


Well Met

by lyn452



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Friendship/Love, Humor, Romance, Secret Identity, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-10-20
Packaged: 2018-07-19 16:47:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7369822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lyn452/pseuds/lyn452
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>First meetings reveal a lot about the tone of a relationship and its continuation</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Well Met**

Selina pushed up her glasses once more, grasping the edge of the frame where the metal curved. To any observing, she was wearing a very stylish pair of Versace reading glasses that matched her black cocktail dress and heels sharply. Glasses that were perfectly appropriate to read the fine print on museum plaques, and Selina Kyle carefully read about and looked at each artifact present.

What was not so outwardly noticeable was that Selina Kyle had 20/20 vision. While some people wore glasses as a fashion accessory rather than a necessity (mainly to look more intelligent and respectable), for Selina they did perform an important function. Installed within the frame was a micro camera that sent images to her handheld computer. Perfect for reconstructing a layout.

She was careful to give each piece equal time, so that later no one would mention seeing her hanging about the cat's eye emeralds. She did pause at the final painting though, going over the plan in her mind. Later tonight, three should be late enough, she would return in a vastly different outfit. The security system was nothing she couldn't easily beat but still enough to provide an adequate rush of adrenaline until she had the actual emeralds. She smiled at her musings, not hearing the silent approach.

"Absolutely breathtaking."

* * *

 

A slow night can be a good or a bad thing. To a restaurant owner a slow Saturday night signals the beginning of the end. While an ER doctor might be grateful and happy for a slow day. In many ways Batman felt this same pleasure on a slow night. A slow night for him meant a safe night for Gotham. Of course, he never saw it that way. A slow night was a night in which criminals were escaping him—either lying low to form some new grand scheme or, even worse, active but too low on the radar to gain his attention.

Some deep instinct drove him to make his way to the museum, knowing the chance that those new emeralds would prove too great a temptation for some criminal. 

He was right.

A moving shadow was enough for him to enter. The moment he spent in darkness before the thief became aware of his presence was a productive one. He took in his opponent.

The first thing he noticed was that the thief was a woman. It was impossible not to. She was wearing dark, skin-tight leather, black maybe purple. She also had some kind of ears popping up from her head. They were similar to his own, but shorter and wider. He scowled displeased at the thought of yet another costumed criminal. Though this would be his first woman.

He observed her for another moment, eyes still lingering on her form. She was certainly athletic. Even from this distance he could see her curves were toned. A glance at her handiwork proved her aptitude for thievery as well, a fact that was supported by the lack of any alarm.

He decided to make his presence known as she bent over the panels connected to the jewels. A good offense may be the best defense against a woman, as he was loath to hurt her.

His growl penetrated the darkness. "Museum's closed."

She stiffened, but didn't jump at the surprise, and rose slowly. Before she turned her body just as slowly to face him she looked at him over shoulder as one may check out someone of interest for the first time. All of her movements were executed in the most enticing manner possible. When she faced him fully, her bright eyes gave him the same study as his previous one of her. Her lips curled into a cross between a smirk and a smile.

"Meow."

* * *

 

Selina shivered at the warm breath at her ear. Inwardly, it shook her core—it'd been years since anyone snuck up on her. She removed her glasses, finished using them anyway, to give whoever this was a proper look, most likely a glare. Her first impression was a broad chest in an expensive, well-tailored suit. Her eyes lifted to meet a smirking yet handsome face. She recognized him almost instantly as the Prince of Gotham himself, Bruce Wayne. She decided to play it off as though he was any other guy, which, ultimately, he was, "Excuse me?"

He leaned into her, too closely, with dark eyes sparkling. "The painting. It's beautiful."

A woman with Selina's looks was used to every arrogant, rich asshole hitting on her. Often times she relished the power it gave her, dates were great for a little theft action, but that's all they ever were to her, professional opportunities. Mr. Wayne was stirring emotions Selina wasn't quiet liking, so she was annoyed with him. Not bothering to play the clueless debutante, Selina let her intelligence show. "Beauty is found in symmetry—this mess is nothing but pain."

Bruce looked at the painting once more, but didn't move away from her ear, still whispering in what could be classified as a seductive manner, "There can be beauty in pain."

Selina repressed the second shiver, but it did cause a noticeable stiffening, which was met by light laughter, "Do I make you nervous?"

She turned to face him head-on, forcing him to move a step back. It pleased her. She could feel the control seeping back in, causing her to relax once more. "There is beauty in art, which can be forged from pain. Great, beautiful things can come from pain, but pain itself has no beauty of its own."

She caught Bruce Wayne's initial reaction to her words but it was masked too quickly for her to decipher what it was before he replaced it with an amused leer. "A masochist would disagree with you."

The words seemed the wrong reaction, but she went along with them, deciding to tease him a bit. Asshole or not, it was hard to pass up a billionaire. She let her voice take on a more alluring quality. "And are you a masochist, Mr. Wayne?"

He smiled. "So you do recognize me." Then took a step closer. "Not tonight."

She shared a smile with him, before taking a sip of the champagne she'd almost forgotten and walking away. She was not surprised he followed to the next painting. "So what do you think of this painting, Miss…"

He let the words trail off clearly fishing for a name. Selina let him have it, not taking her eyes off the painting before her. "Selina Kyle."

He smiled again. "Beautiful name for a beautiful woman."

Selina resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the clichéd response, but chose to ignore him. The silence stretched to an awkward place. Selina thought about the possible Wayne treasures. One bad line wasn't worth it. "What do you think of this painting, Bruce?"

He seemed pleased with the use of his first name, but sputtered at the question. "The painting? It's…uh…really blue."

Maybe the family jewels weren't worth so much. "This is an original Picasso and all you can say is it's really blue?"

She could see he was holding something back, but was still unimpressed by the words he released, "I don't know much about art."

Selina studied him for a moment. Something just wasn't quite right about him. She wasn't ready to give up on him. The sound of musical cords drifted in. She could see talking was getting them nowhere, so she went for a different approach. "How would you like to dance?"

He flashed a grin with too many teeth, "That's something I am far more familiar with."

He ushered her out to the dance floor and their dance began.

* * *

 

Batman didn't quite know what to make of this woman. Not only did she not seem to have any fear of him, she actually looked amused as she stood there and studied at him. This was new to him; usually there would be a chase by now, some cowering, anything familiar. At least the silence was familiar.

Until she broke that too. "I was starting to think you really were just an urban legend." Head to toe she gave him a predatory look that would make a hunger tiger looking at a steak proud, even licking her lips slightly. "You certainly don't disappoint."

Batman took a defensive stance. "I'm taking you down."

She actually wagged her finger at him as she sauntered around the emeralds she was obviously after. "Now, Bats this is only our first date. No need to get physical so fast. I am not that kind of girl."

He dropped out of his defense, not because of what she said, more because she actually had the audacity to say it. He doubled his guard to compensate, not liking how easily she was stripping his defenses as she let her fingers play with the display case. "That's far enough, Catwoman!"

If she'd been amused before she was absolutely delighted now. "Catwoman, how wonderful! I was thinking more Cat Burglar or Black Paw, but Batman and Catwoman, simple and to the point." She looked directly into his eyes. "I like it."

Batman didn't like how she automatically paired him with her. It was time to end this; he was surprised he allowed it to go for so long. "You're going to jail."

She must have caught a flash of the handcuff in his hand. "Handcuffs? How kinky. You got whipped cream in that belt too?"

He stopped dead in his tracks. Damnit, he tried to snap himself out of the shock. She's just a criminal like anyone else. As for the teasing, he'd been faced with worse at a thousand dull parties by greedy debutantes.

She continued her playing fingers moving with more purpose now. "Don't look so shocked Batman. Good girls wait for Santa to bring them presents." She was now toying with the emerald in her skilled fingers. "Girls like me see something they want, they take it."

He was upon her in seconds, and she was ready for him.

And so their dance began.

* * *

 

Selina was impressed. While his ability for conversation left something to desire, Bruce's prowess as he danced showed off a far more attractive, physical side. She never quite felt the thrill of dancing until he was spinning her.

* * *

 

Batman had been unprepared. She was good, another first. Well, not technically but he expected ninjas and big beefy guys to put up one hell of a fight. He wasn't expecting her to throw off his hold with such force, or the high kick to be so skillful.

A high heel to the face was a new experience for him as well.

* * *

 

They moved perfectly together in a dance as old as time. One moved in perfect choreography with the other. The intensity burned from eyes that never lost their connection to the other. She moved back just as he moved forward, they never lost the rhythm, slipping into it like a second skin. It felt natural and right and they both took what they would later consider an unnatural amount of enjoyment from it.

As the tempo increased so did they, moving faster. Until it ended.

Both were also surprised by how winded they found themselves when it was stopped.

* * *

 

Selina could feel the flush in her checks as she clapped for the band. Her eyes never left Bruce's and for the first time in a long time she thought about just going home with a man. No secret agenda or teasing, just trying out a normal relationship.

As soon as his eyes left hers, looking around the room, which she just remembered was full of other people; she dismissed the silly notion and admonished herself for it. She was not some romantic, silly girl. A grown woman with a lot to hide knew better than to get too close.

Then he leaned in again to kiss her check and she wondered what harm could come from one night. "Thank for the dance, Miss Kyle."

He walked away.

Selina stood for a moment, confused. That was not normal playboy behavior.

Then her eyes narrowed. That definitely was not normal playboy behavior.

* * *

 

Batman thought he'd had an advantage. Strike that, he did have an advantage, several in fact. He was bigger, stronger, and within a few minutes of refreshingly skilled sparring, no, fighting, discovered he was the more skilled fighter.

He somehow forgotten or neglected to calculate that she would not be so averse to using less than fair tactics to her advantage. Like not so innocent lingering touches and unnecessary breathy moans. He was losing his concentration and as soon as he realized she struck him with what felt like claws. As he grabbed his side, she sidestepped him and made for her escape route, the same rope she'd skimmed in from. He saw her blow him a kiss as she was hoisted up. He pursued.

Running across rooftops was not something he was really familiar with either. Sure he vaulted from them for ease of transport as well as knowing the advantages of being the one with a higher footing and sight. But he'd never really ran across them until now.

He lost her when she jumped onto a moving truck, giving him a coy wave as she sped away.

He couldn't remember the last time he felt such rage along with a begrudging respect.

As a sharp pain stabbed his side again, he didn't think he'd ever quite felt that way before.

* * *

 

Bruce Wayne was a mystery to her and a challenging one at that. Selina had been with enough playboys to spot one a mile away. Bruce Wayne, for all his reputation, was not one. A deep, locked away part of her was thrilled she'd found a man who could hold her attention for five minutes. It considered an interesting, rich man quite the steal. Who cared why? She vaguely remembered the tragedy of the Waynes, and how the boy was bond to be messed up. Still, the question nagged at her: Why was Bruce Wayne pretending to be a playboy?

She brushed it off. She had two other little pretties to attend tonight, and they required her full attention. As she pulled on her suit and grabbed the necessary equipment she thought about the Batman she'd only heard about in whispers.

Perhaps, tonight would be the night she'd finally encounter the man who'd satisfy her curious mind.

* * *

 

Batman winced again or since the cowl was sitting beside him on the med table maybe it was Bruce who was blocking out the pain as he mentally broke down the night. Alfred was pressing for information in a subtle, butler way. "Explain this nights events again to me, sir."

Bruce wanted to sigh. He growled instead. "I underestimated her. A mistake that won't be made again."

Alfred gave a look of total disbelief, but said nothing until the wound was clean and the instruments put away. "You misjudged her ability because she was a woman?"

"Not exactly." Alfred stood with his arms folded, still looking at Bruce. He knew he would not be leaving until he said everything. "I was ready for it in theory. I was prepared for a villainess to use whatever means at her disposal as much as an equally skilled fighter. I just wasn't expecting both from the same woman. She's unexpected."

Alfred didn't flinch. "I thought you were supposed to be ready for anything."

Bruce stayed silent only scowling. Alfred still didn't change his appearance but his tone was as joking as Alfred got, "I think you may have finally met your match, sir."

Bruce didn't like it. He didn't like thinking about Catwoman and how easily she distracted him. How she got away. He knew he would get her next time, next time he'd be prepared, but still he just wanted to get his mind off of her. He would go mad if he didn't. He replaced one female distraction with another. "Alfred, prepare another place setting for Friday night. I'll be bringing someone home."

Alfred stiffened, as he always did when Bruce mentioned one of the bimbos. "Does this someone have a name, Master Bruce?"

Bruce could tell from his look that he fully expected Bruce not to know. "Selina Kyle, and she's not like that, Alfred."

"Very good, sir."

As Alfred left, Bruce thought about his upcoming date, that technically he had yet to arrange, but Selina had been very intriguing in the earlier hours of his night. The first intelligent woman he actually thought about seriously perusing. She intrigued him.

And what better way to get his mind off Catwoman then with Selina Kyle?


	2. Well Met - Part 2

A blinking red light greeted Selina Kyle home, not that she noticed when she dropped her shopping bags and kicked off her heels. Most days she would've felt some remorse (even if only when she got her credit card bill) for the nine bags she ended up with when she only meant to buy those shoes she'd been eyeballing for weeks, but the sale of those emeralds had been lucrative to put it mildly, so she felt entitled to some impulse shopping. The greeting she did notice came in the form of a previous impulse buy, a black kitten.

Selina abandoned her new purchases and picked up the furry black ball. She cuddled with the kitten and carried the little darling with her to her couch. Selina set the girl down after she took a seat herself to play with her properly.

Despite her alter ego's namesake this was actually Selina's first cat. Her parents refused when she was growing up and her previously unsettled days didn't lend well to pets. Even this cat hadn't been planned. She'd simply come across a small boy selling them out of a box on the street. Not only did the boy look like he hadn't eaten in a week, but he had that heartbroken look that children got when their pets died or had to be given away. She stopped out of pity, but immediately fell in love with the playful black kitten. The boy had only been asking for five dollars but Selina slipped him a hundred, which brightened the boy, even if only temporarily.

Selina spent a full ten minutes playing with the kitten named Isis, before she finally noticed the blinking red light on her answering machine. After giving Isis one more quick scratch to the ears she rose from her sit to go listen to her message.

_You have one unheard message. First message: Hello, Selina. This is Bruce Wayne. I wanted to know if you'd like to have dinner with me Friday night. Call me at the office during business hours, and if I'm not there, my assistant will give you my personal cell phone number. I look forward to seeing you again._

Selina could just imagine the smirk/leer on his face with that final line. She wasn't surprised that he called, even less so that he did not leave any private numbers. She was surprised when she found herself calling him back.

* * *

 

At precisely eight o'clock on Friday night Alfred opened the door to a stunning woman named Selina Kyle. Her beauty did not impress Alfred; every woman Master Bruce dated was nothing short of breathtaking. She took in the lavish surroundings with less awe and greed than the others; her look simply belayed her curiosity. He greeted her politely, "May I take your coat, Miss Kyle?"

He watched as she gave him the same curious look she gave the entryway. "Of course, thank you, Mister?"

The slight incline of her head nearly made Alfred chuckle as he took her coat. "I am Alfred Pennyworth, Master Wayne's butler. You may call me Alfred."

He looked at her chosen attire. Tasteful, stylish, and classy, all which were not so easily applied to Bruce Wayne's dates. She spoke frankly. "I didn't realize people still had butlers." Her eyes immediately widened, but her words were neither stuttered nor rushed. "I'm sorry that was rude."

Selina passed initial inspection, not that he let on in any way. "Think nothing of it, Miss Kyle. If you could wait here a moment." With that he walked away with dignity.

Instead of placing Miss Kyle's coat in one of the many closets in the manor Alfred instead went to fetch her date first, who was occupied in the Batcave. As Alfred climbed the stairs down to where Master Bruce was to be found he lamented days past when he fetched the young boy from fighting imaginary monsters in the back grounds for his waiting mother, rather than fetching a young man fighting very real monsters for his waiting date. When he saw Bruce dressed in his Batman costume Alfred knew he was about to deliver bad news to Miss Kyle.

He cleared his throat. "Miss Kyle is waiting for you, Master Bruce."

Bruce's tone was emotionless. "Get rid of her. Falcone has a shipment of drugs coming in tonight."

Alfred didn't bother sighing, let alone arguing. It would be pointless and only keep the woman waiting longer. So he climbed the stairs to do another hated task. Informing Bruce Wayne's dates about some unexpected emergency or illness or whatever excuse Alfred felt like telling them.

When he returned he found her studying the Wayne portrait sitting at the top of the staircase. This was new, most women would've either still been impatiently waiting in the doorway or taken the liberty to explore further. He climbed the stairs, careful not to make any sound. She must have sensed him anyway for she looked over at him right as he made his way to her. She turned her attention back to the family portrait. "It's funny, for some reason I always remembered Martha Wayne having red hair."

Alfred hid his shock. "You knew the Waynes?"

She shook her head. "No more than anyone from Gotham did. I just vaguely remember the murders. My father mumbled something about losing the only good people left in Gotham as he read about it over morning coffee. My mother gave me a little hug, mentioning that poor boy." She paused there, Alfred suspected this was the first moment she realized that same poor boy was the billionaire she was waiting upon. "Strange how easily Gotham forgets its tragedies. Then again I guess it gets new ones to replace them every day." Alfred thought of how one person in Gotham hadn't forgotten so easily. Then Selina shook her head once more, shaking off the melancholy and faced Alfred with a smile. "I'm sorry, you obviously wanted something."

"Mr. Wayne sends his sincere apologies, he's been unavoidably detained."

Her eyes narrowed. Alfred could see she was wondering how many times he had delivered that line to a woman. He was wondering that himself. "And what is this avoidable detaining's name? Amber? Bethany? Chastity, no obviously that's wrong."

Master Bruce had not been lying; the other women would've either shrugged it off or stormed out by now. "Miss Kyle?"

The anger in her voice was turning to amusement like this was a game. "Daphne? Emma? Felicity? Greta? Heather? I've got the whole alphabet, Alfred."

Still, the dangerous look was unsettling. "I assure you, Miss Kyle, it was business emergency, not a personal one."

She cooled off at that. "Well, then he wouldn't mind if I waited up for him. Where is the bar, Alfred?"

This would be unwise on many levels. "Miss Kyle, these things can take quite long, perhaps it would be best if you went home.”

Her voice took on that dangerous tone again. "I'm a big girl, Alfred. I no longer require a bed time." She smiled and the danger evaporated once more. She took his arm. "Now come on Alfred, fix us a few drinks and you can tell me all of little Bruce's shenanigans."

Yes, this one was vastly different. Alfred was unsure if he was very afraid or infinitely pleased.

* * *

 

Batman was successful, the drug deal was stopped and the culprits were being processed in the police station now. However, Bruce was in a great deal of pain due to the injury he sustained when one of the men slashed his stomach. The cut wasn't deep enough even for stitches let alone real damage but he still wanted Alfred to take a look at it. Unless he stayed out very late, even by his standards, usually Alfred had an uncanny sense of always being there right when he showed up, but tonight he was nowhere to be found.

Bruce did a quick patch job himself in the med lab before scouring the security footage of the grounds, fearing the worst. It didn't take him long to find his trusted servant though. Bruce dressed as quickly as he could, looking the part of a man just coming home. He exited the cave by going directly outside, in order to solidify the image just in case. It wasn't needed.

When he walked in through the front door, Bruce saw and heard nothing so he made his way to the entertainment room. Despite seeing it on the monitor in the cave he was still surprised to hear Selina Kyle's laughter coming from the entertainment room, and when he opened the door he allowed his surprise to show as he saw her sitting across from his butler.

When she saw him, she gave Bruce a seductive smile, which made him want to give a Bat-like scowl, but he resisted, giving a leer in return instead. He noticed her uncrossing her legs as she hopped off the barstool. "I believe that's my cue to go." She walked around the bar and gave the older man a hug. "It's been a pleasure talking with you, Alfred."

Alfred gave her a warm smile in return. "I assure you, Miss Kyle, that the pleasure is all mine."

Bruce watched as Selina focused her attention on him now, walking over with a cool, calculated stride. She opened her arms to him. "Bruce."

She brought him in close and gave his cheek a slight nuzzle, brushing her lips against his ear. Bruce let himself enjoy the sensation for the briefest of moments when he felt her knee him squarely in his freshly injured gut. The sweetness in her voice was replaced by a much more dangerous tone. "Don't you ever stand me up again, Bruce Wayne."

When she turned to grab her purple hand purse and coat she was all smiles again. Even giving Alfred a wave and Bruce a blown kiss good-bye.

Alfred walked over to assist his charge. "I quite like her."

Bruce glared, still bent over from the sharp pain coursing through his body centered on his tender midsection. "Of course you do."

* * *

 

In the end, they did get their date. He took her to the hottest restaurant in town sans reservation to make it up to her. They received the best table. The dinner consisted of great food and mediocre conversation. The only real interesting points were bits of innuendo, though despite his reputation nothing happened. Selina got no more action than a goodnight kiss on the cheek.

All in all, she found him to be incredibly dull and the romance petered out quickly, as the following week she saw the tabloids Bruce had moved on with a supermodel.

She kept his number though. She told herself it was because when you get a billionaire's private number you keep it. If she were being honest with herself she would admit that it was the memory of that initial spark and that nagging feeling that there was something more.

* * *

 

Ultimately, Bruce knew nothing could happen with Selina Kyle. She wasn't his type. Well, actually if he were looking for a real date, she probably would have been exactly his type, but a real relationship with an intelligent woman would not work well for him.

So he ended it, mostly by just not calling back.

He kept her number as a reminder of the mission and the sacrifices that needed to be made for it. Though, the optimistic part he thought long dead, kept it as a possible glimmer of hope in his darkness.


	3. Well Met - Part 3

Catwoman was enjoying herself immensely. This was always the moment she felt giddy. When she had the jewel in her hand but hadn't quite gotten away with it yet.

It had gotten even better since _him_.

God, screw the laws about stealing that growl of his is what should be illegal. She got chills every time she heard it coming from the darkness. He was the first man who could thrill her past a few months.

It'd been a great few months too. She'd collected quite a few goodies from Gotham's elite while the real crazies distracted the Bat. One of them, the Riddler, even suggested a team up with her. She liked the guy enough but still laughed in his face questioning what he could possibly offer her. His reply was Batman's head on a platter. She told him to work on his sales pitch, as the entire point was to offer something the other person wanted. Though she worked alone she did find herself slowly being accepted into the crazies little forming group. The papers were labeling them Rogues. She liked the title though found the association more than unpleasant. Still, the crazy ones served their purpose of distraction well enough so she could keep up her steady income.

It was even better when she had his full attention, however. The way he moved and fought was sometimes reason enough for her not to feel quite so angry about being thwarted. Because even the nights she came home empty handed, she still felt energized by the encounter for days after.

He was delicious, and she was dying for a real taste of him.

"I don't think that belongs to you."

She smiled to herself. Speak, or rather think, of the devil. She turned slowly, "Can anything really belong to anyone. Or don't you believe in philosophy?"

He stepped closer, looking as intimidating as ever. "I believe in justice."

She took a step closer, looking as beautiful as ever. "You know, I do believe in free trade." She was close enough now that she could see the slight tremor of his lip when she licked hers. "Offer me something better and I might just give it back."

He appeared unaffected. "Give it back or go to jail."

She licked her lips again. Then she executed a perfect back flip towards her landing gear. She'd entered through a window and within seconds she exited. She attempted to grab the gear, but he was too quick and she was forced to leave it behind. She cursed. That equipment was expensive.

It was a fast race, but she managed to lose him. She took a breath in a dark, hidden spot overlooking an alley. She looked around, gathering her surroundings. She was nowhere near her home and was sure Batman was still looking for her. She cursed for the second time that night.

Her quiet swearing was cut short by screaming. She looked at the alley again and saw a woman tripping over her heels, being chased by dirty man with a knife. He had caught up to her and pushed her up against the dirty, brick wall. He was holding her throat tightly.

Catwoman climbed down from her perch silently. She could hear him now, a deep, raspy voice, "Now, hand over the purse."

Catwoman decided to make her presence known. "What do we have here?"

Both victim and criminal looked surprised and confused by her sudden appearance. "What the fuck you doing here?"

She tilted her head at the crude question. "Does that really matter?"

He looked away from her again. Turning towards his victim, flashing his knife. "Guess it's alright, you're a thief like me."

Catwoman didn't like the comparison and made her displeasure know with a few well-placed kicks that ended with a bleeding man lying amongst the dirt and garbage of an alley. She leaned over him and bent close to his face before he could pass out. "Let's get one thing straight, we are nothing alike. It takes nothing but fear to threaten someone with a weapon. There is no honor in what you do."

She let his head go down again when his eyes rolled back. She stood again. The woman began to approach her and took her arm in gratitude. "Thank you so much. If you hadn't come along…"

Catwoman tore her arm from the woman's grasp before she could finish and looked at her with scorn. "A piece of advice about living in Gotham, if you can't run in heels than you have no business wearing them."

The woman looked frightened again because of Catwoman's tone and ran away. Catwoman looked around for a fire escape to climb back to the roof and find a way home. A voice in the dark interrupted her, "That was a good thing you did."

She smirked and turned towards the voice. "Surprised, Batman?"

He stepped from the shadows. She loved seeing him. "You are a villainess."

She looked into those cool, dark eyes of his. "I only take material things that are well-insured, and mean little in the grand scheme of things." She came closer to him. "I'm not like the others. Don't lie and say you didn't know that. Neither one of us really fits in the groups we've been placed in."

He seemed to want to take a step back from her, but refused to give her the ground or satisfaction. She smiled at his lack of response, knowing she really was getting to him. She invaded his personal space, standing only inches from him. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. I doubt Lex Luthor has ever been delivered to the Metropolis police a bloody mess."

She saw him tighten. He was getting defensive. She put her arms around him. "Don't worry, I understand. You're not alone in that darkness you know." She brought her lips near his. "You're not alone." She closed the space between them.

She didn't think he would kiss her back. So it was a wonderful surprise when he grabbed her waist, pulled her closer and returned the kiss with a passion to match her own. It went on long enough for her to wonder if she would protest at all if he took her against a dirty wall of a back alley. And if not for the sound of the sirens, she wondered if he would've stopped himself.

When the shrill sound reached them, he released her as if though she burned him. She was still recovering from the aftershocks and barely saw his tight face before he was off.

It was the first night he had ever needed to run from her.

After her head cleared sufficiently enough, she could feel that he had taken back the jewels, but frankly she didn't care. This night was still quite the success.

* * *

 

Selina always felt a rush after a successful theft. That rush was increased tenfold when she met the Batman. But tonight, that kiss, it was too much to contain. She could feel her blood pulsing and the heat radiating off her body. My God, how she wanted that man. He was dark, dangerous, with a body like sin and the mouth of the devil. He was temptation in flesh form. Selina knew how to control herself; in fact, she possessed an astonishing amount of control as a true professional should. But Catwoman was more prone to indulge in temptation rather than fight it. If she wanted something shiny she took it. If she wanted to say something she said it. If she wanted to press herself against a hard, strong male body covered in latex that left little to the imagination connected to a growl in her ear…

She needed a release. Now.

Her mind ran through the options quickly. She found her mental rolodex of Gotham men filled with high society men she didn't trust to be discreet or scum and madmen she didn't trust period. That was until she flipped to Wayne, Bruce. Hmm. A man like that didn't need to brag, all he had to do was show up with his latest conquest. His whispered reputation spoke for itself. Usually that would work against his favor, but tonight his experience made him a better prospect than a random pick up. He was far closer to a guaranteed good lay.

She dug through her things looking for the number she never threw away. It didn't take long. She was surprised he was still up at this late hour. He sounded strange on the phone but agreed to the late meeting readily enough.

She dressed quickly. There was only one thing to wear for this, her best lingerie and a cocktail dress that left as little to the imagination as Catwoman suit.

She stopped by the mirror beside the door to reapply her lipstick. Yes, Bruce Wayne would do nicely. She remembered how strong and large his arms were when they danced, and his tall frame. His build nearly matched the man of the one she really wanted.

She was done. She put her lipstick in her purse and left with bats on the brain.

* * *

 

He hated fighting her. It always ended in frustration. He allowed another criminal to slip away in the night. Every time she escaped him. Furthermore, he knew exactly why. She affected him.

That was what really got to him. She wasn't the only one to get away. Yes, she was the only one it was a constant for, but as angry as he got with the others escaping, it was nothing compared to her. Because there was always a second frustration he gained from her, one that he got a taste of tonight.

Which only made it worse. The weakness and lack of control he showed tonight was unacceptable. Over and over he berated himself for letting his sexual desire overpower the mission. Fighting her always required at least an hour of intense physical training and a cold shower.

Tonight though, it was worse. He couldn't focus at all and knew he'd only end up seriously hurting himself by continuing. Still, he needed more than a cold burst of water to calm his body. He searched for an answer.

Which is when she called. Then he made his second mistake of the night, by letting her come over. Once again, he let his body rule over his mind.

That's why Selina and he hadn't made it past two drinks. It was also why he was currently pressing her up against the staircase wall, kissing her as if he meant to devour her. He wasn't sure if that wasn't his intention after all.

Selina was exactly what he needed. Not just because she was a sophisticated and sensual enough woman to understand the terms of the night without explanation. She was the right height and the right build, so when he closed his eyes he could pretend. He could feel a body he wanted out of leather rather than a dress. He removed his lips from hers, relishing in the tingling feeling that came from a great kiss. He kissed her neck, tightening his grip in her silky locks. She even tasted right.

She was breathing heavily next to his ear, gripping his hair as tightly as he held hers. The breaths turned to gasps as she felt the hard body hidden beneath the suit. Then to moans as his own wandering hand found her breast. She didn't speak any words until his fingers pushed aside a scrap of silk. "Oh God, B—”

She stopped herself before he had the chance to cover her lips once more. He didn't want to hear her say the wrong name and ruin the fantasy. Before his better sense could return he finished his trip to the bedroom.

He threw his bed sheets aside as he brought her down on the bed with him. She fell away from him slightly, but reattached herself quickly, her hands diving for his belt. He was just as eager to remove her clothing. He heard a rip but was unsure as to whose clothes were torn as both were acting like animals. Their kisses begun resembling bites, as teeth replaced lips.

When both of them reached a state of nakedness, Bruce pushed Selina down against the pillows. She struggled against them and for a brief moment foreplay turned into a struggle for dominance. Though he was much larger and could overpower easily, she was too much of a wildcat for him to gain complete control over. So he made her purr instead to get what he wanted. Kissing every part of her body giving special attention to her ample bosom and toned stomach before moving lower and making her scream. He noticed she never actually used his name, and while other men may have disliked that, tonight relished in the anonymity that allowed him not to stop.

As she settled again, Bruce reached into the bedside drawer. Within it laid a 40-pack of condoms, of which he routinely threw out unused ones to give the illusion of frequent need and use. It was a detail of the image that was never seen, but he prepared for it nevertheless. He was grateful for it now as he slipped one on before settling himself back within her outstretched arms. He ignored the slight hesitance he received when he saw her face, and was reminded once again that the woman actually with him wasn't the woman he was seeing. Despite his aching need he rebuilt a fire within her again, closing his eyes and rebuilding his fantasy once more.

When he entered her, the sheet that somehow managed to stay hanging on his backside grew to a cape. And he was Batman indulging in his darkest fantasy with an enemy. His black wings covering them both and giving the impression of consuming her. In one fell swoop he was conquering the woman he never could and his now open eyes burned into fiery emeralds beneath a mask. His eyes caught black curls spread like a fan against his pillow and he closed them again before they could focus again and betray him. He refused to let the illusion slip and poured everything into the incredible body writhing against him.

She was right there with him. She matched every strong, violent thrust with a tighter grip. She fed his need for pain with deep scratches on his back, the bloody kind that were only supposed to happen in movies. Every time his eyes loosened he could see her, a picture of beauty: her eyes closed, gasping for breath and then biting her lip so hard that when Bruce kissed her again he tasted blood. He would later be slightly disturbed by how eager his reaction was to the coppery taste.

He let his hands fall from the sheets and move up to take position on the headboard for better leverage. He continued his hard and fast pace, knowing that his body, spirit and mind could continue this for as long as it took. Next time could be slow and sweet. She tried to flip them again, but he resisted her for that could wait as well.

He could feel it coming. As he strove on, sweat gathered on their bodies making them more slippery. Her moans released again though she still refrained from saying his name. They were both almost there, and then the world stopped.

* * *

 

He woke from a dreamless sleep, a first for him since a gun provided him with nightmares every night. He took in his surroundings before he seeing her. For a flash he saw Catwoman wrapped in his cape, curled up on the window ledge resting in the warmth of a sunbeam. Then he saw the truth. It was Selina resting there. She was looking out the window, appearing lost in thought. Bruce took a moment to observe her, unguarded. Her long legs were peeking out from under one of his white button downs, and the soft morning sun gave her stunning features and black curls a softness that made her appear innocent. She must have felt his gaze because suddenly her eyes turned to him.

Inwardly, Bruce panicked. When he sat up the sheet fell to reveal his chest, which possessed a large enough amount of scar tissue to raise questions. His mind quickly figured that she'd seen or felt everything last night, so there was little risk of exposure now. He thought up of a story about a bad car accident in Paris in case she asked anyway. But she didn't say anything, only looked at him for a moment, as if seeing him for the first time, and then turned back to the window.

It was then she spoke. "I can see the graves of your family from here. It's an odd view for a master bedroom."

A thousand responses made their way across Bruce's consciousness ranging from anger to turmoil, but he chose not respond. He spotted a light pair of sleeping pants on the floor. He was unsure how they got there, but decided to grab them anyway. He got out of bed and put them on while Selina was distracted by the view. When he finished, he walked closer to her, but leaned up against a dresser that was still a few feet from where she was sitting. He ignored her previous observation to make his own. "You're wearing my shirt."

She gave a small smile and looked at him again. "I wanted a moment of pure relaxation this morning, and the outfit I was wearing last night is not one that is meant to be worn for very long."

A look somewhere between a smirk and leer crossed Bruce's face. He thought about making a suggestive comment, one that was sure to offend her enough to slap him and leave in a huff, but it didn't fit the moment. He didn't want to act as the playboy fop with her. But the mission required it; she may get suspicious if he was too nice. Then again, if he angered her, she may talk too much. Maybe mention the scars and dark looks. Bruce realized that as much as he held back last night, she'd seen too much. Last night was a horrible lapse in judgment between two people who rarely made mistakes, not likely to ever be repeated.

That was the knowledge that filled the quiet dignity of this moment between them. Both knew the other had been holding back last night. Both noticed the closed eyes and bitten lips of their partner. Now that it was over, neither wanted to play a next morning awkwardness not felt nor a sappy romance that wasn't meaningful. Neither person wanted to lie and act like last night was just sex between two people. Neither party wanted to confront what last night really was because they knew it would reveal too much. Both knew that while this moment was real, it wasn't completely true.

It made it difficult to move forward, to know where to go from here. Bruce tried to lighten the mood. "I'm surprised Alfred hasn't come in with breakfast yet."

Selina set her feet on the floor beneath the window ledge. "Does he do that often? Bring breakfast in bed for you and your dates?"

Bruce mislead her with the truth. "No, he never really gets the chance to bring breakfast to one of my dates."

Selina looked down quickly to hide her misery. "I guess I should feel special then." After a moment she placed her hands on her knees and rose. "Well, the question becomes would a feel more like a whore walking into my building wearing the dress I wore last night or men's clothing?"

She said it in jest, but Bruce detected the vein of insecurity in her words. However, he hadn't a clue how to assuage her fears. He began to really wonder why Alfred hadn't come with breakfast. For the first time, Bruce was getting a glimpse into how Alfred would really respond to his having an overnight guest. He disliked it. "Why don't you take a shower first? We can have breakfast in the dining room, and you can wear one of my robes until you decided."

An image of her in a white terrycloth robe flashed in Bruce's mind and he now really hoped to see her in one. She simply nodded and followed his finger to the linking bathroom he pointed to. After she left his presence, Bruce went over to sit on the bed. He was unsure how to proceed with this situation, and hated the feeling of uncertainty. He sat holding his head between his hands and for the first time in a long time wanted to run from a hard situation rather than confront his responsibility. 'God, I'm pathetic,' he thought. He tried to snap himself out of it, but that just lead to him wondering why the water wasn't running yet.

Hell. How was he going to get himself out of this?


	4. Well Met - Part 4

Selina turned the silver handle to the very expensive shower making the water as hot as it could get. It wasn't so much that she liked her water scalding, but shower made of clear glass and she didn't need a mister Wayne coming in, seeing her and getting ideas. Steam was good. Even the initial burn of the water was good, but of course she adjusted to that.

Usually the natural adjustment would be a good thing but not this morning, in this shower. She wanted the distraction, anything to take her out of this moment.

Damn it! What had she been thinking? How did a one-night stand with a billionaire become a good solution to her frustration over Batman?

She looked over to the shampoo. Glancing at the titles she found out that Bruce had very masculine tastes, none of the soaps displayed appealed to her. Then again why did she expect something different? Bruce was a confirmed bachelor; everything in his shower smelling like an Irish spring wasn't surprising. She'd even detected the under scent in the smell that was uniquely Bruce.

She brushed off the distracting thoughts and grabbed a bottle, starting to wash herself on autopilot. She had precious few minutes alone to figure this thing out and she wasn't about to waste them away lamenting her vanilla-scented shampoo.

Selina knew last night was a terrible mistake and even suspected from his reaction this morning that Bruce knew too. The question was how to avoid letting the awkwardness overwhelm them. How could she face this in the light of day?

As she lathered up, the Catwoman in her begin to fire up. Was she kidding? How would she face this in the light of day? She was Catwoman! Five days ago she told the Joker to fuck off and she was worried about some trust fund brat? She would go out there with the same confidence she used to face down Batman and Gotham Rogues alike. She could do this. This could be handled easily.

With this game plan firmly in place she enjoyed the remainder of her shower and finished quickly. She got in a bit more of a playful mood after she wrapped herself in the white terrycloth robe. She allowed curiosity to get the best of her and searched through cabinets. Finding nothing of real interest, she walked out to face Bruce.

But was met with his butler instead. It threw her for a loop and she found herself off balance for a second, but she recovered quickly. "Where's Bruce? Another business emergency?"

The butler straightened, "No Madame. He's waiting downstairs with breakfast. He simply informed of your clothing situation and I thought I might offer a solution."

"Oh." Selina immediately felt playful again. "That would be much appreciated. Lead the way." She smiled brightly and followed him in a near skip.

* * *

Bruce was scouring over the Business section of _The Wall Street Journal_. It was mostly for pretense though. His mind was far too focused on berating himself for his behavior last night. How could he allow himself such a lapse in judgment?

Before his mind could repeat the same stern speech it'd been giving him since he woke up, Selina walked in, dressed in women's clothes. "Hello, Mr. Wayne," she said cheerfully.

He decided he didn't want to know how Alfred arranged that and put aside his paper. He gestured to an empty chair, "Have a seat. Join me for breakfast."

She gave him a bright smile and snatched up a croissant. "Thank you but I'll be taking mine to go. Alfred called a cab." She held out an arm. "But feel free to escort me to the front door."

Bruce grinned, perhaps too much like an idiot, and got up with far too much eagerness. "Of course."

He walked her to the door with such a formalness that she was giggling by the time they reached the door. He forced himself to grin widely again. She stopped herself and looked in his eyes. She playfully brushed back some of his hair. "Just so you know, Mr. Wayne. Last night was a one-time thing, a mistake that will not be repeated."

Bruce let a hint of darkness creep into his voice, "Of course." He took her hand and not letting go of her gaze raised it to his lips and kissed it softly. She looked pleased. "Miss Kyle."

Her eyes sparkled as he let the hand drop. "What a gentleman."

Bruce glanced at the cab. "A gentleman would offer to pay the woman's fare."

She smirked. "And only a call girl or girlfriend would accept." She walked over to the yellow taxi and opened the door. She called out, "Good-bye, Mr. Wayne," before stepping in.

"Good-bye, Miss Kyle." Bruce answered back to the retreating car.

He let the door shut behind him as he went back into the house. Instantly his mood darkened and he strode to the one place he could go to find peace. Alfred caught him on his way to the cave. "Master Bruce?"

He practically growled his answer, "I'll be in the cave, Alfred, looking for Catwoman."

Alfred knew the answer would be true and his charge would spend the remainder of the day pursuing his foe until he could change into Batman tonight. What he wasn't so sure of was if the brooding that was sure to accompany the sleuthing would be over a certain thief in leather or the woman he just sent out in some of Martha Wayne's old clothes.

* * *

It started with a crash, not that she realized it at the time. She was a bit distracted by the man and his caresses to notice whatever priceless artifact paid the price of passion. She was only grateful they made it to the bedroom this time. Her living room sofa was fine for the first part of the evening; any place was fine for that, as he always managed to distract her from any discomforts. But that sofa was not ideal for sleeping. She always woke up with a pain in her neck to accompany other spots of soreness.

He kissed her again and her drifting train of thought was derailed again. When he began to disrobe her and himself it started again. She should really not be doing this. It had been going on for far too long. And she should stop. They should stop.

Then his mouth found a sensitive area and she wasn't thinking again. He kept her in that state for a significant period of time. Until right before he entered, at that moment he looked her in the eyes, forcing her to return his gaze, and whispered, "Selina."

She ran her hands lightly in his dark, short hair. This had been the routine for the past few times. She didn't where it came from but knew he wouldn't continue until she reciprocated with a breathy whisper in his ear, "Bruce."

He grunted and she was momentarily reminded of another's grunt until he thrust forward and her eyes rolled back.

When finished, he attempted to pull away, but she tightened her grip. She wanted this for a moment at least, the weight of another atop her. Usually she felt suffocated under a man, but tonight, with him…

This was not her fault.

The sexual frustration with Batman found its place with Bruce. Selina saw many things wrong with Bruce and her relationship with him, but sex wasn't one of them. It was beyond good. It was like he knew. He knew the nights when her foreplay with Bats needed an outlet, even sometimes calling her before she got a chance to pick up the phone herself. Without being told, he could differentiate the nights when Batman and Catwoman had fought and she craved rough, almost violent fucking, and the nights of heartbreaking confessions that required tender lovemaking. He always knew. She thought she'd marry him if not for the other women, which he never bothered to give up. She didn't begrudge him for them because of her own indiscretions with a Bat, but she was more traditional than she appeared to allow such an open marriage.

She held him tighter, not wanting to let him go. That's what this was all about, she couldn't get what she wanted, and was loathe to let go of what she had. Bruce didn't seem to mind. They were matched in so many ways.

But she didn't like to think about that. So she closed her eyes, trusting him enough to know when to roll off.


	5. Well Met - Part 5

**Well Met - Part 5**

The threat had been made less than an hour ago, the Joker had highjacked every television set in Gotham (yet again) and showed his next victim in his women of Gotham killing spree. Batman recognized it for what it really was, the Joker was trying to target women who meant something to him. He started with a famous female District Attorney who he let fall from a thirty story building onto a trampoline, in a horror show of a real life cartoon. The next victim was a high level female detective; she met her fate in a piranha tank. The female judge was strapped to an electric chair, as the Joker "sentenced" her in full judge regalia, white wig and all.

Batman had failed each and every time, only arriving in time to check for a pulse. Each and every time the sick bastard got away.

Still, Batman could see the Joker was getting frustrated. In his latest execution he strayed off into a rant about how the true punishment would be Batman's and how he had yet to find that woman who would crack him. It highlighted the main advantage Batman had over psychopaths like the Joker; the rants would often carry within them their true motives. Batman began to watch over any other woman on the right side of the law that Joker might consider close to Batman.

However, the Joker managed to hit far too close by taking someone who actually on the not so good side. Batman's mind flashed to the image of the Joker making his declaration that Batman's precious little kitty cat had an hour to live. Behind him was a heavily sedated Catwoman chained to the wall with a bomb strapped around her midsection. She seemed to be coming to slowly as the video feed ended, bobbing her head and her eyes searching her surroundings frantically as the Joker's manic laughter echoed.

Batman could not fail this time, time continued to tick away as he approached the warehouse he was sure he'd find the Joker and his hostage in. He prepared himself for anything that might be inside as he entered.

The sight the greeted him was still not what he'd been expecting.

Ten muscled henchmen littered the floor and the Joker had been hog-tied yelling through his gag and an irate Catwoman stood in the middle, free of her chains but not her bomb. When she saw his dark figure she pointed an accusing finger at him, "You! You're late. Seriously, where the hell have you been?! It's a damn good thing I'm not the damsel in distress type waiting around for her white, no dark, knight to save her!"

Batman didn't move or answer to any of her accusations. He even let himself look slightly shocked for a moment. He looked at the chains on the wall that had bound her at one point. "How did you get out?"

This only made her angrier. "Really?! I'm one of the best thieves in the world and you're shocked I know how to pick a lock." She looked him straight in the eye. "I'm not some stupid little D.A. who's just going to let some insane clown blow her up. Now get over here and get this bomb off me."

He reached her in less than a second, and disarmed the bomb in twice the amount of that time. He removed the vest of explosives and saw her crumble slightly. Up close he could see that the anger had been a mask for a very desperate fear. He allowed himself to hold her for a moment.

Batman felt each and every rib bone through the tight leather, and if he moved his hand up her body further he would surely feel…

He slammed down on the thought before it formed fully. That was too close. It was all too close. The Joker kidnapped her in hopes to get to Batman, and his reaction to the event only proved the madman right. Batman could almost hear the Joker's soft giggles. She must have saw the walls come down because her own appearance had hardened, and she stepped back but still stayed in his arms.

The sirens started sounding in the distance and they both knew this was their cue to run and part. Batman let go over her and she glared at the Joker, "Don't you ever try that with me again."

They had both disappeared, the moment over, by the time the police arrived to the scene.

* * *

Bruce felt light fingertips tracing his back and turned his head to the other side of the pillow, and was greeting with a warmly smiling Selina. He let the corners of his lips tug up as well, gave her a quick, soft kiss. She purred in contentment.

Suddenly, Bruce heard a noise come from the living room. He bolted up from the bed, knocking her arm aside. "What was that?"

His bed partner looked fairly annoyed. "It's just Isis."

He ignored her, all the possible scenarios of a late-night intruder running through his head. He crept slowly from the bed and made his way to the source of the sound. He was on full alert.

Selina, on the other hand, was immensely amused. "For God's sake, Bruce, come back to bed. You're naked, even if it's an intruder what on earth are you going to do?"

Part of the logical side of Bruce's brain recognized the wisdom in her words, but Bat mode had taken over and the threat was going to be eliminated. He ducked behind the couch for protection, hoping to maintain some element of surprise and he jumped out behind it and was faced with…a cat cleaning itself.

The cat paused at the sudden appearance of the naked, frowning billionaire and then resumed to lick her paw and rub it across her face. Bruce was in no mood to deal with cats.

Bruce her a light chuckle come from the doorway from the hall connecting the living room to the bedroom. And wasn't surprised to see Selina leaning against the door frame, arms crossed with a smirk on her face and laughter in her eyes. Bruce straightened trying to retain some dignity. "I never pegged you for a cat person."

Her amusement didn't leave. "So you thought I was a dog person?"

He shrugged. "No, just not a pet person."

She uncrossed her arms and walked towards him. He looked at her form; she was as naked as him. She stepped beside him and her lips brushed against his ear as she gave her response, "Well, Mr. Wayne. I'm just full of surprises."

He sighed lightly and sat down on her couch. She frowned slightly at his action. "You're naked on my couch."

He quirked an eyebrow, "So?" He flashed playboy smirk number twelve. "I've been naked on your couch before."

She stepped directly in front of him. "No, you haven't. I've been naked on my couch, and you've been naked on top of me."

He grinned and pulled her into his lap. She didn't resist and climbed up him, straddling him. He put his cheek to hers. "You're not the only one with surprises."

She laughed in response before he captured her lips with his own. The sound of wet lips smacking against each other filled the room for a while before she pulled back. She stayed on his lap but perched herself as far from where he wanted her so desperately to be. "I have a question, Mr. Wayne."

He blinked. "Now?"

She smirked. "Yes, now."

He wasn't a man who gave up easily and he let his hands roam as he turned on some charm. "I have better plans for now."

She let herself enjoy his touch, "Don't worry, we'll get to that part." She smirked again. "After all, you did so valiantly protect me from the cat intruder."

His jaw stiffened and he laid back against the couch. He glanced behind Selina and swore he saw that cat smirk too. He waited for her question. She began, "Now, Mr. Wayne…"

He couldn't help interrupting her, "You know, we've been having sex for over a year now, I think we've reached a first name basis, Selina."

She smacked him lightly on the shoulder for interrupting her, but the smile on her face told him she wasn't mad. "I know that, but addressing you with your formal name makes me feel like Scarlett O'Hara."

Bruce chuckled as much as he could at the image of Selina as Scarlett. "Does that make me Rhett?"

Mischief twinkled in her green pools. "Do you really think you are the end all for me Bruce?"

He became uncomfortable, shifting beneath her. She let the question hang for a moment before lowering her head and observing, "How vain is man."

The arms that were wrapped loosely around his neck became more solid, now actually holding him, her fingers caressing his neck. "Tell me something real about yourself, Bruce. Something no one else knows."

Bruce leaned forward and kissed her forehead, mostly for distraction. "Impossible, my life is an open book."

That made Selina lean back and grab his head so she could face him properly. "Bullshit. I know for a fact that's not true."

"How do you know?" He challenged. "Most of the time we spend together, we're humping."

"You'd be amazed to know that sex is often one of the better times to get know who a person really is."

He had to retrain himself from growling and shutting down completely. "Why don't you tell me something about me then?"

She held his gaze, meeting his challenge. "You're smarter than you let on." Bruce's gut dropped. "Seriously, I googled you. Before your parents' died, some considered you a prodigy. And you were kicked out of the best schools on the East coast because of behavioral problems, not grades."

She'd researched him? This was not a good sign. "And google is such a reliable source. Besides, that was years ago, now…"

"Now you're with me, Bruce. If you were really as dumb as those bimbos you take out…"

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" Bruce wanted to get the upper hand, and hoped to spark her fury.

She continued on as if he said nothing at all. "…you'd be with one of them, not me, right now. But, no, you actually do want a woman with a brain rather than as many notches on your bedpost as you can get. Why are you so determined to have everyone have such low expectations of you?" She studied him for a moment, and saw his refusal to answer so she added, "It also shows your fear of getting close to anyone, but let's tackle one issue at a time."

She was hitting way too close to home. Bruce wanted to shift the focus. "What about you? Tell me something I don't know about you."

She knew what he was doing. "I'm a wonderful liar."

He smiled, hoping to return her to a more playful mood. "I hate to break it to you, but I knew that within five minutes of meeting you."

"But not why." She paused. "My parents were very strict."

"Were?"

"They died when I was fourteen. Horrible age to be orphaned at, when you think you can take care of yourself but you can't. My last words to my mother were 'I hate you.'"

"At least you remember your last words. I can't remember what I said in my head and what I said out loud. I don't know the moment they died. It just all jumbled together."

She looked at the broken man in her arms and began to kiss their mutual pain away. He grabbed her waist tighter and pulled her to him and they sank into the couch together.

It was the first time it wasn't sex or fucking.

It was the first time Bruce stayed the night.

He walked out in the morning


	6. Well Met - Part 6

Catwoman didn't like to admit it, but she was ashamed of herself as of late. Not because she'd successfully stolen two paintings and one tiara, but because she'd anticipated and wanted Batman to show. It was the equivalent of a girl daydreaming herself as a bride, waiting for a boy to call, pathetic and beneath her.

Yet, even as she made her silent descent to acquire painting number three, she kept one eye trained for a bat-shaped shadow. She despised herself for fantasizing about those strong arms around her waist, the surprisingly soft lips against her own, her powerful legs wrapping around his waist and bringing him closer…

She shook her head. The last time she'd encountered Batman, they'd carried it too far. If not for the sound of that siren, they would've crossed the line from harmless kissing to something more. She'd always played up the flirting because of its effect on him, but lately it was her reactions that were worrying. So much so that she was avoiding the Iceberg, not wanting to hear anything about Batman.

"Freeze, Catwoman."

Her first instinct was anger. How the hell had he gotten the drop on her? But then she realized that the voice was all wrong. In place of Batman's deep gravel was a boy's squeak. She turned to be faced with said boy, dressed in flamboyant primary colors that were better suited for superheroes not based in Gotham. "Kid, you are past the age where it is cute for you to dress up like a superhero and play."

His glare was a cheap imitation of the original. "This isn't a game."

She glared back, really annoyed now. "Fly home little birdie, it's past your bedtime."

He continued to scowl. "Stop."

She rolled her eyes and proceeded to ignore him. Only to run into a solid, black chest. Batman grabbed her as she spun away, cursing in way that probably wasn't appropriate in front of the kid. She kicked and fought like a trapped animal, furious mostly at herself for falling for the trap. She freed herself and placed herself between the two heroes, keeping them both in her line of sight. "So Bats, what's with the sidekick? You really need a chaperone that badly when you deal with me?"

The younger superhero looked confused, but Batman bristled, saying nothing. Catwoman smirked, enjoying her newfound upper hand. Bats would've been better off getting a girl sidekick; she could handle little men as well as the big ones. She looked over at the young man and poured on charm no boy his age could handle. "So what's your name?"

It had the desired effect and his voice faltered as he answered, "Robin."

Catwoman smiled at the boy and he looked over nervously at his mentor. "Oh a little bird. How appropriate."

Batman chose this moment to rescue his protégé. "That's far enough, Catwoman."

She turned her charm to him. "It's never far enough Bats."

Now the question was who going to save Batman?

The unlikely answer was the Joker, whose antics caused the Bat Signal to light. Batman's eyes narrowed when he saw it. He grumbled to Robin as he left, "Handle this."

Robin wanted to protest, but it was too late. When he turned to face Catwoman she was smiling like the cat that caught the canary. He really didn't like that look. "I'm taking you in."

"Are you really?"

He surprised her by attacking. Though Catwoman wasn't really the type to harm children, she fought him back.

It wasn't much of a fight. Boys Robin's age were only meant to see women like Catwoman from afar. And even though Catwoman escaped with no trouble, she didn't like it. Not only did she not claim her painting, but Batman had found a loophole in controlling his reactions to her flirtations. He now had a tag-along buzz kill.

* * *

 

Selina couldn't sleep, unlike Bruce who'd collapsed almost immediately after finishing. They were at his place, which was rare, and she looked at him against his expensive sheets. Though Bruce almost never looked completely relaxed, he at least looked somewhat peaceful in sleep. She smiled softly, before catching herself. She wouldn't fall for him and was already dangerously close to liking him too much.

She turned to stare upwards, thinking of the delicious leftovers that must be in the refrigerator. Bruce and she had eaten at the newest hotspot in Gotham, but Alfred still must have something in the fridge. She carefully slipped out of the bed, grabbing Bruce's white dress shirt to cover herself. As she walked down the hall, she buttoned a few buttons. She had nothing to be ashamed of, but on the off-chance Alfred was about, she didn't want to embarrass him.

She found little in the fridge, but found a delicious-looking chocolate creation in the freezer. She licked her lips as she took it out a piece and poured herself a glass of milk. She ate and then rinsed and placed the now empty dishes in the sink. Before going back to bed she penned a cute note to Alfred, thanking him for the treat and asking him to marry her once again.

She smiled as she made her way back to the master bedroom, mind elsewhere when she heard, "Bruce?"

She jumped in a way that wasn't like her and whirled around to see what had made the sound. She saw a sleepy young boy, with rumpled black hair, who almost looked like he could be Bruce's son. She pulled together the suddenly too short shirt. "Who are you?"

His eyes widened as if he was just noticing the beautiful, half-naked woman in the hall. He hadn't even gotten around to blushing as he answered, "I'm Dick Grayson."

Selina mentally scrolled through the names of rich Gotham kids, but came up with nothing. It was unlikely the kid was here as a favor. But then why? "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," he said as it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Selina smiled and tentatively extended a hand, still nervous of the lack of fabric covering her body, "I'm Selina Kyle. I'm a friend of Bruce's."

Dick raised an eyebrow. "A sleepover friend?"

Selina smiled again, unsure of how much a kid Dick's age would know about sleepover friends. "You could say that."

Dick still looked bothered about something but nodded his head. "Oh. Okay." He went back into the room he'd come out of.

Selina stood in the hall for a second, still going over the surreal encounter, trying to figure out what emotion she was feeling. Then she decided on anger and tore off to Bruce's room.

She straddled him as she poked him, saying his name repeatedly. Bruce opened his eyes slowly, grinning at the view, but Selina was in no mood. "You have a son?"

He groaned, still half-asleep but placing his hands on her hips. "What?"

"Bruce, I know we decided on not needing chit-chat about what's happening in the other person's life, but a kid might be worth mentioning."

Bruce yawned and shrugged. "Figured you already knew, it's been all over the news as of late."

He began to rub her backside, but Selina was having none of that. "You couldn't have said anything at dinner? Nothing at all?"

Bruce was fully-awake now, in more ways than one, and met Selina's green eyes full-on. "I didn't think you'd care."

Selina ignored body part pressing against her, still upset. "Bruce, I care when I met your adopted son half-naked in the hallway."

Bruce smiled. "Really?"

"It's not funny."

He continued to smile. "Selina you probably just made a few of his dreams come true, as long as he didn't see anything, no harm done."

He sat up to kiss her, but Selina wasn't finished just yet. As he peppered her neck she ask, "What about me? Maybe I'm emotionally scared."

Bruce chuckled against her shoulder as he removed his shirt from her, "You'd eat him alive."

She smiled at that and forced him to look at her again, "But still, you're a father now, Bruce. How can we continue?"

He sighed. "I'll guess we'll just be friends."

He kissed her deeply and moved her beneath him. When he released her lips she agreed. "Just friends."

As he moved his lips down her body, she had a feeling she was going to enjoy this friendship.

 


	7. Well Met - Part 7

As Lucius spoke to the board about the company's financial status, Bruce had on a well-practiced look of boredom. Bruce had already privately discussed the matter with Lucius, and used this time to think on other things.

Lately, Gordon's daughter had begun dressing in a bat costume; he tolerated it at first since she worked well with Dick, who Bruce was currently at a loss with. It'd been so much easier when Dick was ten, but lately, even Barbara couldn't keep Dick in line. With Dick acting out, Bruce had no desire to deal with an angry police commissioner should the man ever figure out what his daughter was up to at night.

Bruce's train of thought was interrupted when his assistant popped her head in, "Mr. Wayne? Miss Kyle is here."

Bruce stood. "Thank you, Candace. Tell her I'll meet her in my office in a moment."

Candace nodded and left. Bruce excused himself from the meeting, but before he could leave Lucius took his arm, whispering, "Bruce, you cannot leave a board meeting to meet one of your bimbos. There's an important matter we must address."

Bruce was surprised at Lucius. "Selina's hardly a bimbo, Lucius, and you should know that."

Lucius looked apologetic. "I know; Selina is far above your usual standards. What I mean to say is private matters should wait, Bruce."

"She's here on business."

Lucius was confused. "What does she do for a living?"

"She's a consultant for charitable giving. The Wayne Foundation is giving her a grant to dispense to a worthy Gotham charity."

Lucius nodded, releasing Bruce's arm. "Please return when you're finished." As he left the room, Bruce couldn't help but wonder what had Lucius so on edge. It would've had been the first time Bruce ducked out of a board meeting without a good explanation, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. He ignored the thought, having enough to deal with.

When he entered his office a lovely sight greeted him, Selina was leaning over his desk, dressed as stylishly as ever. He loved her in a skirt and high heels. She turned at the sound of the door closing and smiled warmly, extending her hand, "Bruce."

He accepted it and pressed his lips to it. She seemed slightly surprised by his actions and removed her hand quickly from his. He moved to sit behind his desk and guided her to one of the chairs before it. She folded her pencil skirt underneath her legs as she sat and crossed her legs. "So, what kind of donation were you looking to make?"

This professional side of Selina intrigued Bruce. "I was looking to make a gift to a city charity on behalf of the Wayne Foundation."

"Of course. But why are you using me now, Bruce? You've never utilized my services before."

She looked at him expectantly, but before Bruce could explain his line beeped and Candace once again interrupted his meeting, "Mr. Wayne? Dick Grayson is on line one, and he's insisting to speak with you right now."

Bruce was instantly irritated. Why on earth was Dick calling him at his office? What could be so important? He gave Selina a small smile and answered his phone.

Dick sounded just as irritated. "Hey Bruce. I'm in Jump City."

Bruce refused to overreact. "Why?"

"I'm done following your shadow. I need to get away, establish myself outside of you."

Bruce took a deep breath and counted backwards from ten. "Dick, you're a Goddamn teenager, you are not ready to be out on your own."

Dick snorted. "And you know best. Bruce, I am so fucking sick of your superior attitude, like you know everything. And how that, like, makes you the boss of me."

"I'm your father, Dick, I am the boss of you." Bruce had almost continued, but refrained from talking about Batman and Robin in Selina's presence. "Dick, we will talk about this at a later time, I'm meeting with Selina right now."

Dick barked a laugh. "Oh that's rich. I run off and you're too busy fucking your cat woman."

Bruce heard his heart thump from his within chest. His voice was deadly, "What?"

"There's only woman who affects you as much as Selina Kyle, and that's Catwoman. Haven't you ever thought about that Bruce? Really thought about it? Or do you actually love her that much?"

Bruce could picture the evil smile on Dick's face as he said the words. But even worse, he looked up and began to picture Selina in a catsuit, and found it was far too easy to do so. Through gritted teeth he asked, "What are you talking about?"

Dick chuckled before turning serious. "You're the great detective, figure it out. You do have feelings, Bruce, and they do get in the way. Or have you really not noticed that your girlfriend is a little strange?"

The line went dead, but it took moments for Bruce to actually hang up the phone. He looked up to Selina, doubts and thoughts swirling in his head. She merely smiled as if nothing had changed, which from her side of the desk, nothing had. Bruce envied her for that. "Troubles at home?"

Bruce pushed his treacherous thoughts away, acting as if though nothing of importance had happened on that phone call. "Dick's impossible."

She laughed, leaning back in her chair. "He's a teenager, Bruce. All teenagers are impossible." He still looked gloomy, so she continued her laughter. "I hate to be the one to break it to you, Bruce, but that cute puppy you picked up from the pound does eventually grow up into a troublesome dog."

Bruce needed a distraction and got out the checkbook. "Who do I make it out to?"

Selina seemed a bit confused. "We have more to go over, Bruce. Like what kind of publicity do you want?"

Bruce had to get her out, "I leave it entirely to your discretion."

She cocked her head slightly and furrowed her brow, like a cat his mind unhelpfully supplied, "Are you okay?"

He put on his best disarming smile. "I'm great." He wrote the check, and handed it to a perplexed Selina. "Listen, Selina, I'm sorry I have to cut this short, but I really have to get back to that meeting. Lucius was really upset by me leaving." He stood. "I'll escort you to the door."

Selina studied him carefully as she walked out with him. And though she didn't ask the words, Bruce could feel her questions. What's wrong with you? Are you all right? What did Dick say that upset you so much? When she got to the door, she paused holding up the check with two fingers, "Seriously, Bruce, this is a big check. There's absolutely no place you have in mind? You just want it to go to any local Gotham charity?"

Bruce thought quickly for a moment. "Give it to someone who will do the most good with it."

"Okay." Selina thought for a moment and then got a look on her face that Bruce had to compare a cat that'd caught a canary. "I have the perfect place for your money." Suddenly, Bruce didn't trust this woman who he'd let so far into his life. She smiled once more before leaving. "Good-bye, Prince of Gotham."

He imagined that those words had the same intonation as Catwoman's "Sweet dreams, Dark Knight."

As soon as she was out the door, Bruce went straight to his closet, intent on following her. He couldn't get Dick's accusation out of his head. He began to change his business suit, assuming she'd stay in the upper, rich, part of the city. He lost the tie, gained a sweater vest and changed his pants and shoes. He then grabbed a side satchel he would never dream of using, throwing in a hooded sweatshirt and another set of pants in case she surprised him. He combed some gel through his hair to give it a spiky look and put on some "geek chic" glasses. He rushed out of his office hoping no one would look too closely at him, but as he waited for the elevator, Lucius spotted him.

To his credit, Lucius only looked shocked by Bruce's appearance for a moment. It was one the qualities Bruce admired most in Lucius, his ability to take whatever strange behavior Bruce threw at him, accept it, and move on without questions. Lucius approached Bruce. "Bruce, there's someone here from Luthorcorp that I would like you to meet."

Bruce pushed the button for down again, more forcefully than he did before. "I'm busy right now, Lucius."

Lucius shook his head. "I would like you to meet this woman before the gala on Saturday night."

Bruce checked the elevator's progress once again. It was still at the eleventh floor. "Look, it'll probably be better if I meet her then anyway. Right now, I'm occupied with something else, but at the gala, I assure you, I'll be charming and witty and she'll fall madly in love with me."

Lucius didn't look pleased with Bruce's attitude. "I don't want her to fall in love with you, I want her to see you as a solid, professional business man."

Bruce was fed up with the elevator. "This is taking too long, I'll take the stairs. I'll see you later, Lucius."

Lucius watched the CEO of Wayne Industries chase after what he guessed was a beautiful woman, he began to wish, and not for the first time, that he'd just stayed a Wayne Industries' janitor.

* * *

 

Bruce had been following Selina all afternoon, and found no evidence to support Dick's wild claim. First he tediously watched her shoe shop. The woman tried on ten pairs of $500 heels and didn't buy a single one, though it appeared the salesman knew her, as he wasn't upset when she left empty-handed. What followed that was an even worse torture, lingerie shopping. Bruce had seen Selina in lingerie more times than he could count. He'd seen the silky panties, the lacey bras, and the transparent teddies. He also already suspected that she didn't own a bra that cost less than $150, but to see her shop for those items, to see her thought process as she picked up a leather bustier or tried on a red corset, it was too much for him to withstand.

Luckily, she didn't stay there long (and didn't pick up anything either). Next, she had lunch at a sidewalk café Bruce knew she liked. She ran a few more errands after that, a stop at the dry cleaners, a bookstore and a museum, but still, no unusual activity. Though Bruce did begin to wonder at her lifestyle and how she afforded so much luxury. He now knew about what she charged for her services, and while she wasn't cheap, it didn't seem like she was a woman who made enough money to make up for her expensive tastes.

As he began to wonder, he noticed Selina hailing a cab, and he quickly repeated her actions, getting taxi for himself. Following her now, he realized they were leaving the expensive part of Gotham and going to a much less savory section of town. The part of town where a person could still expect to be killed for walking down the wrong alley. Bruce quickly modified his disguise again, cursing himself for not being better prepared as he pulled the gray sweatshirt's hood over his head, hoping it'd be enough.

He had the cabbie park out of her sight as she entered what appeared to be a very run down gym. He again wished he'd been better disguised, but not seeing another way in, he bit the bullet and walked in as he was. He lowered his head so the hood covered his face more completely and began mumbling to himself, hoping people would avoid him.

The first thing Bruce noticed about Selina was that even though she was still dressed as the stylishly classy, stunning woman that he knew, she still appeared to be in her element among the former thugs and gangsters in the beaten-down gym. He paused to think on that, to figure out what it meant. The answer seemed obvious though it escaped him. It wasn't long before she found her purpose. An older man instructing someone in the ring — a man Bruce recognized as he turned to smile at Selina and stepped out of the ring to join her.

Ted Grant. Wildcat. When did he settle in Gotham? Bruce knew the man traveled and liked Gotham, but to find him apparently running a gym for Gotham's fallen, Bruce looked around and saw mostly youth, — it seemed odd. Bruce took a seat on a nearby bench to observe Selina and Ted. How in the hell did they know each other?

Selina smiled, holding her hand out to Ted. "Hello, Ted."

"Selina Kyle." Ted took her hand and moved it outward, so he could take an appreciative look at Selina. It was a look that Bruce didn't like. He smiled back, now bringing her hand to his lips, "Don't you clean up nice?" There was a twinkle in his eye.

She removed her hand from his, "Did you ever doubt I would?"

"No. You were meant to be a success story."

They shared a sad smile until Selina shook her herself out of it and brightened. "I have a present for you."

"Do you now?"

"Well, not me specifically but on behalf of the Wayne Foundation." She handed him the check, and his eyes bugged out slightly. He said nothing, but looked to her for an explanation. "You may be aware that my current job is essentially taking money from rich clients and ensuring they got to appropriate and legitimate causes. The Waynes always believed strongly in cleaning up and helping Gotham, much like yourself. And not every check I get can go to an animal rescue shelter." Ted remained in shock, so Selina leaned forward, prompting him. "This is the part where you say thank you."

Ted finally managed words, "This is what you're doing for a living nowadays?" He scanned her designer outfit, all appreciation gone now. "You must be doing quite well."

Selina's eyes narrowed. "I am, as a matter of fact."

Ted didn't seem convinced, but he dropped it and began explaining how he'd put the money to use. Bruce noticed that one of the young men in the boxing ring kept looking Selina's way. Furthermore, he saw that Selina was noticing it as well. When they got close enough to the ring, the man yelled at Selina, "Hey hot stuff, why you hanging out with the old man?"

Ted had been dealing with these kind of people his entire life and knew exactly how to handle tough kids putting up a front for the others watching. But Selina beat him to the punch, knowing even more about putting arrogant assholes in their proper place, "Because little boys like you are only playthings, amusing for a moment, but far too fragile."

The kid leapt out of the ring into Selina's face, looking like he was ready for a throw down. It took everything Bruce had not to intervene to defend Selina. Ted did the job for him. "Collins, leave the lady alone, she's started here just like you. In fact, she was one of my best pupils and could be a great inspiration to you all."

"Don't care. I ain't taking no disrespect from no woman."

Selina quipped an eyebrow, "Listen, tough guy, I don't need Ted to fight my battles for me. Woman or not, I could kick your ass all by my lonesome."

A small crowd had gathered by now, and Collins looked at around at his buddies. "No bitch could ever beat me."

"Well then, let's see you put your money where your mouth is." Selina extended a hand.

Her challenger accepted it. "You're on. Try not to cry when I beat you."

Selina smiled slyly, heading to Ted's office to change with Ted on her heels. As the young men gathered around the man about to fight, giving him grief for the most part, Bruce subtly put a listening device he'd had in his satchel into his ear to hear Selina and Ted's conversation. It took a moment, but then he heard Ted's voice clearly, "…don't want to see you get hurt."

"I'll be fine, Ted. You remember Enrico? I handled him and three of his buddies in this gym when he accused me of being a cocktease and boasting his car."

"You were seventeen years old then, Selina, and far more used to getting into physical confrontations…"

"Exactly. I was seventeen then, and I've learned quite a few tricks and am in better shape. Don't worry so much. I'll be fine."

Bruce was greatly disturbed by this new information, and was even more distressed when Selina came out in a more appropriate outfit and handled the punk-ass without any trouble. Though he knew he wasn't the only one left speechless, as Selina left the ring she winked at Ted, "Still worried about me being out of practice." Selina gave that "told you so" smile only she could pull off and still look adorable.

Ted almost looked angry. "You've gotten better, Selina. A lot better."

Selina stopped smiling. "Pilates, Ted. They're a real lifesaver."

Wildcat nodded, but Batman wouldn't be so easily put off.

* * *

 

Catwoman was having a bad night.

It wasn't often that Catwoman got in over her head. Usually, she was apt handling anything life could through at her with her signature style and grace. But tonight…

Tonight she's encountered something she hadn't in a long time — fear. And Jonathan Crane had had nothing to do with this reaction.

She'd paired up with Black Mask, which was a mistake from the beginning, considering her friendship with Bruce. But the offer seemed string-free, she would distract the Bat for an allotted period of time while he did stuff she preferred to have no knowledge of. The money would pay for that penthouse she'd been eyeing with some left over. So, she put her doubts aside and did her part of the plan flawlessly.

Though he hadn't been captured, the rest of Black Mask's plan had fallen to shit quickly. Catwoman knew going into his hideout to demand payment, he was going to be mad. But she'd learned the hard way that when dealing with the egomaniacs in Gotham, it was best to be direct and quick. And a little violence never hurt either.

As for what happened, it wasn't the first time she'd thoroughly pissed off a Gotham Rogue. It wasn't the first time she'd been manhandled by henchmen twice her size. It wasn't even the first time she'd been threatened with rape.

But when Black Mask grabbed her chin, inspecting her, she was bothered by his appreciative study of her body. His eyes burned and the tilt of his head when he spoke bothered her, for no real reason, "A beauty like you might be worth having even for such an outrageous price."

He let her go, and she glared at him from the grasp of the two over-sized men still holding her, "I'm not a whore."

Black Mask chuckled. "Aren't you? Don't take too much offense; we all have our price, though we try to hide that truth. But, don't you ever wonder what makes you so special? To be the only Rogue never caught, never identified?"

She smirked, figuring out an escape, "I'm just that good."

Black Mask nodded. "Perhaps, but a better theory would be that he doesn't really want to know. You mean more to him as a fantasy than a person."

That was the moment Batman chose to make his entrance. Selina escaped, afraid. This was the first moment in her life that she truly wanted to kill someone, and she wasn't entirely sure of the cause of the intense urge. She was shaking and she leaned against the wall of a secluded alley, dropping down to sit against it. She tried to calm herself down, but was failing. Irrationally angry now, she removed her mask, flinging it away, so she could feel her face in her hands without leather getting in the way.

"Selina Kyle."

At Batman's voice her head shot up to look at him, but her confusion was instant, "How in the hell did you recognize me so quickly?"

For a moment he appeared heartbroken, but he recovered quickly, and ran away from her. She replaced her mask, pushed her overwhelming feelings down deep, and went home.

* * *

 

Ted Grant was staying at his beloved gym late, finishing some paperwork and preparing for the new funds.

"We need to talk."

Ted flinched, but just barely, and he turned to face the Batman. He knew he had nothing to fear as he'd done nothing wrong, but the man struck an imposing figure. He wondered what he was doing here. But he hid his surprise and changed the topic, "I recognize some of your moves."

Batman didn't doubt it; he'd trained for quite some time with Ted Grant. "Tell me about Selina Kyle, Catwoman."

Ted nodded. "So she is Catwoman. I didn't know for sure." Ted looked at the cross look Batman appeared to be wearing. "You're not the only orphan Gotham created, you know."

Batman wouldn't let himself to get distracted by emotion. "Who is she?"

Ted seemed angry now, definitely uncooperative. "That woman's past is earned."

"Oh, I've earned it."

Ted softened. "I don't want to read this in the paper tomorrow along with her capture."

"You won't."

With that promise, Ted Grant began the story of Selina Kyle and noticed that as he told it, Batman's face never changed.

.

First, picture a middle class family sitting around the table, a mother (who, since the children started school, has been doing some house cleaning part-time) and father (who has a decent job in construction) and their two daughters, who were currently bickering, much to the father's frustration. Finally he stopped the fighting between his eight and ten year-old, "Maggie. Selina. Stop it. Your mother and I put almost every dime we have in sending you to a fancy preparatory school. We expect you to use that education to better yourselves. I expect my daughters to be better than average, I expect them to be extraordinary."

His oldest smiled at him, with that pretty face he knew would carry her far. "Don't worry, dad. We won't let you down."

He smiled back. His Selina would grow into an amazing woman; he just knew it. "I know you will, sweetheart."

Selina smiled wider, secure in her pleasant and safe life.

.

"Mom?" A few days later, Selina walked in the door throwing her bag near the door, ready to hop in the shower after a particularly grueling Judo class.

Her mother popped out of the kitchen looking frantic. Her father followed behind her looking much calmer. "Selina, have you seen your sister?"

Selina looked around, as though she expected Maggie to pop out and surprise her, "No. Isn't she home already?"

Her mother looked at her father. "That's it, I'm calling the police."

.

The officer seemed kind enough, but that didn't matter to Selina or her parents. "I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Kyle, but it's been a year. It's unlikely we'll find anything but your daughter's body at this point."

Selina's mother let out a sob, fleeing the room to barricade herself in the bedroom once again. Her father got up to go to the kitchen, muttering that he needed a drink. So it fell on eleven year-old Selina to escort the policeman to the door.

.

Selina observed her mother, had been watching her for months really. While her mother had always been quiet, lately the quietness frightened her. Like now, her unkempt mother sat on the couch staring at the television that wasn't on. Selina approached carefully, "Mom, when's the last time you took a shower?"

Her mother barely seemed to register the words, "What's the point? Only going to get dirty again."

Selina went to get her father for help, but remembered he was out turning his moderate drinking and gambling into full-blown addictions. Besides, all her parents did anymore was fight. So she went to the bathroom and ran a hand towel under a running facet. She came back out with the wet towel and began to clean her mother. For a moment her mother stared at her, and lightly grabbed her wrist, "Selina, I want you to stay alive. Stay strong and keep surviving."

Selina looked at her mother, confused, but only replied, "Yes, mother."

.

Selina was twelve and home from another day at the expensive school her parents still sent her to, despite her father's mounting gambling debts. Selina called out, "Mom?"

She looked in the kitchen and saw the car keys hanging next to the phone. "Mom? I know you're home. Where are you?"

She looked in her mother's bedroom next, and then noticed the closed bathroom door. She knocked softly before entering. The first image she saw was a bathtub filled with diluted blood. The second was her mother lying in the bloody water with slit wrists. She ran up to her, "Mom!" She put her hand to her throat looking for a pulse, but only found that the throat was cut open as well. She nearly tripped on the knife as she ran to the phone to call an ambulance to revive her dead mother. The stain made by the blood on her hand never came off the phone.

.

When she was fourteen she poured over the bills, wondering when her childhood had ended. Was it when Maggie disappeared? Was it when her mother killed herself? Or was it when her father no longer seemed to care anymore?

There was a knock at the door, so Selina got up to answer it. Two men were standing on the other side, stereotypical gangsters. "Your father home?"

She didn't like these men. "No."

One smiled, he had a gold tooth, obviously the victim of watching too many movies, "You sure about that, pretty girl?"

She held back any emotions. "He's not home."

She closed the door on them, but heard them say, "We'll be back."

.

A few days later, her father, sober for once, was showing her a magic trick. She picked it up instantly, mastering the sleight of hand. The door was banged on this time. Her father instantly looked worried. "Selina, bedroom now."

She didn't understand but obeyed. He instructed for her to get in the closet, she couldn't hide her curiosity now, "Dad, why am I hiding in a closest?"

Her father gave her a sad look. "I'm sorry I couldn't be good enough for you, my sweet girl." He kissed her forehead quickly. "Be extraordinary, Selina."

He closed the door, and then Selina heard him open the front door. She also heard the two men from the other day talking to him. She didn't catch much of the conversation, but caught that her father owed these men's boss a lot of money and his time for repayment was up.

The point really hit home when she heard the gunshot.

.

"I'm so sorry to about what you've gone through these past few years, Miss Kyle."

Selina barely heard the Headmistress' kind words. She felt nothing anymore, and her thoughts were consumed in darkness and sadness. "I have some good news, through several charitable donations you will be able to finish your schooling here."

Selina found she couldn't quite summon the excitement this woman was expecting of her, but she tried anyway. "That's great, thank you." She asked the next question before she could stop herself, "But where will I live?"

The headmistress looked uncomfortable. "Well, there are several shelters in Gotham until you find a job, get back on your feet."

Selina wouldn't give up, "Yeah, I applied to a bunch of places but I'm too young and lack experience."

"You're a resourceful young woman, Miss Kyle. I'm sure you'll find a way."

.

"Please, I have nowhere else to go." Selina wondered if she really was too proud to beg.

The shelter worker looked sympathetic but exhausted. "I'm sorry, but there's simply no more room. There's a shelter on 15th Street."

"That's across town and it's too late be out safely."

"I'm sorry ma'am, but that's all I can do for you."

The door was shut in her face and Selina closed her trench coat tighter to her. She hiked up her backpack once more, which held everything she owned. Fifteen and homeless, she was a Goddamn after-school special. She began the perilous walk to the subway, which she knew would be filled with people she'd rather not meet. It wasn't long before she found herself in a darkened alley, with men approaching. When one got close enough she threw her bag at him, only to run into the other one who grabbed her. "Jesus, look, it's Kyle's kid."

Selina looked up to see that her captors were the men who'd killed her father. It'd be ironic if it wasn't so damn tragic. "So it is." The man with a gold tooth ran a hand up her side to grab her nearly fully developed breast. "You are a pretty little cherry aren't you?"

She felt the tears on her cheeks and began to thrash wildly. But that only made the man holding her grip her tighter and both men laugh. Gold-toothed man reached for his fly, "Can't remember the last time I had a virgin. Hold her still."

The other man sounded angry, and Selina noticed his grip had slackened, "Who says you get to go first?"

As they argued, Selina broke free. But she didn't get far before one of them caught her ankle, tripping her. She noticed a three-foot lead pipe and grabbed it before being dragged back. "Oh no, girly, you don't get to leave, not 'til we've had our fun."

She turned, swinging the pipe at his head. "Fuck you and your fun!" He instantly dropped to the ground; before the other could react she jammed the pipe into his groin. He followed his buddy to the ground.

Selina was no longer crying. She picked up her bag and carried the pipe with her, and walked away with confidence. That day she decided she was done playing the victim.

.

The double-life was beginning to get to her. During the day, she was Selina the poor girl in a rich girl's world and after school she was practically a street fighter, even a member of a low-class gym run by Ted Grant. She couldn't stand the materialistic girls in her school, the ones whose lives were over when daddy didn't buy them everything they wanted. Spoiled bitches who didn't know how good they had it.

Melissa Slate was the worst. Even now as Selina washed her hands in the bathroom, Missy was complaining to her cronies about how her father had gotten her a regular cell phone instead of the platinum one she wanted.

As she entered the stall, Selina noticed the very expensive and unappreciated item left on the sink. With a wave of her hand it was gone, like magic.

.

It wasn't long before Selina learned that stealing at school was likely to get her expelled, so she broadened her horizons. Pick-pocketing on the subway, crying over her something lost for the sympathy dollar and her personal favorite, charming men into practically (or sometimes no practically about it) giving her whatever she wanted. It took a while for her to learn that trick since she went to an all-girls school and never noticed when men really began noticing her. She had Ted Grant's gym to thank for learning that lesson among other things. The best was when the men were rich and would take her home to all the expensive goodies she knew they'd never really miss. Wigs and other disguises kept her from getting caught. It wasn't long before she could afford a fairly cheap apartment, which she paid extra on to get the landlady to overlook her age.

.

Ted finished the story here, "When she graduated at eighteen, she moved to Europe, got a degree in Art History or some such. I also suspect that's where she perfected her technique, going from petty thief to professional burglar." Ted chuckled lightly, "It's strange, but sometimes it feels like she's my only success story."

Batman finally showed a reaction. "You consider a professional thief and Gotham Rogue a success?"

"Yes." Ted seemed annoyed. “She finished high school, even went on to College. She never became addicted to a drug or joined a gang. She was never victimized, beaten, raped, or killed. She made it to the highest echelon of Gotham society. She fell into the gutter only to climb back out of it with little to no slime on her. Yes, I consider her a great success."

Batman was unwavering. "She's a thief."

"She only stole to survive."

"Then why does she still steal?"

Ted shook his head. "Isn't that obvious? You. You're the reason she still steals; you make it so she still gets a rush from it. Combined with the fact it's probably the only way to make a living that she really knows."

That wasn't the answer Batman was looking for, but he left the former Wildcat. In the Batmobile, Batman sat for a moment, tightly gripping the steering wheel. He sat for several minutes before switching on the auto-drive, knowing he needed time to process all this new information.

* * *

 

Alfred found him in the cave, staring at a blank screen with the Batsuit still on minus the cowl. Alfred knew the best way to get Bruce to open up was to wait it out. It took longer than usual for him to say, "Selina is Catwoman."

Alfred would be lying if he said he saw that coming. Bruce made a fist and slammed it down on his desk. "How could I not have known?"

"We often blind ourselves to things we don't want to see. You’ve always cared for Miss Kyle." And Catwoman, he said to himself.

Bruce was irritated now. "That was a rhetorical question."

Alfred moved closer, not letting Bruce shut him out. "But you need to hear the answer, Master Wayne. If you recall, you were initially suspicious of Miss Kyle. You ran background checks; you kept tabs on her bank accounts to see if she was stealing from her clients, you did everything you do. But then you began to care for her, and trust settled in and those suspicions faded. As I said, when we care deeply for someone, we either ignore the flaws or we focus in on them to try to convince ourselves that we don't care for them."

Bruce's face set into stone, Alfred knew the look well. There'd be no getting to him now. "She's a thief, Alfred. A criminal, the kind of scum I've dedicated my life to protecting innocent people against."

Alfred bowed, worried for Bruce, for it was exactly as he said. Denial often came with love. Either through denying any of the person's imperfections or denying those feelings for the person exist at all. "Miss Kyle is hardly the same class of killers, madmen, and thugs."

"You can dress up a criminal in any color; it doesn't change what it is."

Alfred gave up, and left Bruce to brood alone. He would mention that Master Dick had called again at another time.

* * *

 

Selina was confused. This gala was the kind of social event she'd grown used to finding Bruce at and leaving with when they grew bored. But tonight, she couldn't find him, it was like he was avoiding her, and quite successfully at that.

She finally found him, "Bruce, there you are." She smiled brightly, "So do you want to know how your money is being put to good use?"

Bruce seemed distracted, almost annoyed with her though she wasn't sure why. "I'll find out when the check is cashed now won't I?"

Selina's brow furrowed. "Are you mad at me?"

"No," he said unconvincingly.

Before Selina could continue her questioning, Lucius walked up to him, with someone hidden behind him. "There you are." He looked at Selina and smiled, "Miss Kyle, you're looking lovely as always."

She smiled politely in return, her eyes only leaving Bruce for a moment. "Thank you."

Lucius turned to his boss, "This is the woman I wanted you to meet, Talia Head of Luthorcorp."

Bruce studied her quickly, and found she was quite beautiful. Her exotic eyes were brown, safe brown like Rachel's, not dangerous green. He smiled too widely, and took her hand and kissed it, "Pleasure. Would you care for a dance?"

She smiled and replied with a silky voice, "I would love to."

Selina disliked Talia immediately. Not because of jealousy, she simply didn't trust the calculating look she was giving Bruce, which he was too enamored to catch. And her last name was Head, which seemed to be a hint as how she climbed the ranks, considering how she was practically throwing herself at Bruce. Though she admitted, Bruce's apparent infatuation with this new demon in a dress wasn't helping her now sour mood.

First, Batman recognized her so quickly that there's no way he didn't know her in this life. Now, Bruce can't even seem to look at her, let alone tolerate being in her presence. Suddenly, a thought appeared into her mind, could it be? She looked at Bruce laughing too loudly at whatever the exotic beauty had said. No, it was impossible. Bruce just didn't have the iron in his blood necessary to be Batman though he was certainly damaged enough.


	8. Well Met - Part 8

Lately, Bruce had found himself exhausted. It wasn't the lack of sleep over Ra's Al Ghul's presence; as Batman, he was used to functioning on little to no sleep. Though admittedly, Dick's absence was taking a greater toll on Bruce then he'd anticipated. He'd never realized how much he'd come to rely on Robin, but with Dick (and therefore Robin) in Jump City with the Teen Titans, he was alone again. Actually that wasn't true. He had Batgirl, who was a great asset. But Bruce hesitated to put her into too dangerous of situation, in case Jim found out.

This all contributed to Bruce's state of fatigue, but the main factor was Selina. Selina, who was Catwoman. This fact shook Batman to his very core because he hadn't noticed Catwoman's true identity while his under-age sidekick had. Batman couldn't afford to be wrong. It's how he could stand toe-to-toe with the other Justice League members' god-like powers. It was his saving grace against the villains who tried to destroy Gotham. That was just it, wasn't it? Batman had an emotional attachment to a Gotham Rogue. Oddly enough, his mind began to voice jokes about falling for bad girls, heavily featuring innuendo involving whips and handcuffs, all in Dick's sarcastic voice.

Jesus, he needed sleep.

"You haven't been listening to a word I've been saying, have you?"

Bruce lifted his head to look at his dinner companion, the lovely Talia Head. She had a small smile on her lips and her eyes danced with laughter. Bruce tried to push down thoughts of Selina to focus on Talia. Talia, who hadn't lied and deceived him – telling him about her connection to Ra's instead of covering it up like certain cat women.

Damn it.

"I'm sorry, Talia, my mind is elsewhere this evening."

"I've noticed." She glanced around quickly, though their table was secluded, and leaned forward, whispering, "You're not worried about my father's activities are you?"

Bruce ignored her question; unsure if it would upset her more if he lied and said it was her father, or told the truth and informed her it was another woman who was consuming his attention. "If you really want to separate yourself from your father Talia, you should try to not even think of him."

She straightened immediately. "Easier said than done, Bruce. Though I'm sure you've never encountered such a problem of forgetting someone."

Bruce knew Talia had no idea how close her barb had struck. He used his charm to disguise his hurt, "I know you're trying. I'm just having a hard time trusting you because of your connection to one of my great enemies."

"Oh Bruce." She took his hand into her own, and he had to chase away the immediate instinct to pull away. Instead, he grasped her hand tightly, determined to forget Selina Kyle and Catwoman.

 

* * *

 

Selina hated herself a little for her fear. She hated that she hadn't donned her catsuit since Batman had caught her without her mask. She also hated that she cared that Bruce Wayne appeared to be an official item with Talia Head, even though her relationship with the billionaire had never broken past fuck buddies. She'd basically holed herself up in her home, which was not something she did. Self-hatred, pity and loathing were uncommon feelings for her, and she wasn't fond of them. But she still didn't want to go outdoors and face the world as she'd always done.

So she sat on her couch, not quite curled up, but her cat Isis had taken a spot cuddled next to her chest. She stroked her mindlessly and watched television just as mindlessly. But she discovered something disturbing, so much so that she sprung up, pissing Isis off. Though the cat recovered quickly, jumping to one of the sofa's armrests. Selina faced Isis apologetically, "Sorry girl, but I just realized this is the second time I've watched this  _Project Runway_  episode today."

Isis turned her dainty head away from her master, as if to say, 'I have no business associating with you.'

Selina knew that she may be overreacting to her cat's perceived snub, but she screamed, "Fuck this. I do not sit around and pine for men."

She strode to her closet and opened the secret compartment containing her catsuit. Catwoman would prowl tonight. After all there was more to Catwoman then thievery and Batman.

Right?

 

* * *

 

It what world had these people become her friends?

Catwoman was currently drinking an expensive bottle of wine in the only place in Gotham she could enter without attracting undue attention, the Iceberg. She sat a table with a few of her fellow Rogues. Poison Ivy was arguing with the Joker while Harley whimpered back and forth between them, and though Catwoman forgot what the actual argument was about she knew the subtext of the argument revolved around ownership of the clown woman:

Ivy – I have no friends because I'm completely repulsive to human beings, hence the whole planet obsession, and Harley is the only person who can tolerate (and even enjoy) my company.

Joker – I'm a massive egomaniac and Harley Quinn is the crown jewel of my achievements, plus she feeds into my ego with her devotion and I can hurt her as much as I please in our sick relationship.

For the first time Selina really considered what her Catwoman persona gained for her. She was the sane person in a group of crazy people. It may make her a queen of the underworld, but it was a hollow victory at best. She finished her glass of wine and left the table. She'd been lumped into this group because Catwoman didn't really fit into any mold neatly, but she wondered was this really the life she wanted.

Selina made her way to the ladies room. There she locked the door behind her, knowing it wouldn't keep anyone in this bar out for long, but she needed a moment alone. She gripped porcelain sink and examined her masked face in the mirror. As much as she hated to admit it, Batman was intricate to Catwoman. Now that he knew who she was underneath the mask, she couldn't help but wonder how that change in their relationship would affect who she was as Catwoman.

In that moment she heard the window close almost silently and grabbed the person who intruded upon her moment of reflection. She was surprised when she found herself pressing Batgirl into the wall, "What are you doing here?"

Despite her tough demeanor, Catwoman could tell the girl was nervous. Though she had good reason to be, God forbid if Harley Quinn burst through the door. "I needed to talk to you and didn't know how to get a hold of you."

For a moment Catwoman pondered what it meant that Batman hadn't told his stooges about her secret identity. But she couldn't find a satisfactory answer in the moment, so she taunted her captured prey instead, "Well, you've got nerve, kid. Not many superheroes would be willing or able to sneak in this Penguin's nest, so to speak." Catwoman looked into Batgirl's eyes. The blue eyes had narrowed into steel and instantly Catwoman grew weary of the game she was playing, so she let the other woman go. Batgirl turned around to face her fully, glaring now as she rubbed the wrist Catwoman had grabbed apparently too tightly. Catwoman crossed her arms, bored. "So what do you want?"

Batgirl squared her shoulders and spoke frankly, "Batman's in trouble."

Catwoman fluffed her hair, pondering the image in the reflection, perhaps it was time for another change in her outfit, she felt like a haircut and this cowl didn't work without her long, lovely, black curls. She replied off-handily, "Why would I care?"

Batgirl's face became hard. "Don't you?"

Catwoman continued to focus on her reflection, "Kid, many a plot to destroy Batman have been hatched within these walls, why would you come here to seek help for him?"

Batgirl answered simply, "Because you're not like them."

Catwoman stopped pampering herself and said, "True." She extended her claws to examine their sharpness. "But that doesn't mean I'll save him."

"Ra's Al Ghul kidnapped his daughter, Talia. Of course, he didn't really kidnap her; she was in on it the whole time. Anyway, they've got Batman trapped and are threatening to kill him or dip him in that pit if he doesn't join with them." Batgirl dropped her head. "I can't save him by myself."

Catwoman knew that must've hard for the girl to admit, but didn't feel like playing the sympathetic woman. Not since she mentioned the name Talia. She retracted her claws and replied, "Why don't you get daddy to help, Barbara?" Batgirl's eyes widened and before she could begin denying it, Catwoman waved her off. "Oh don't worry, none of the crazies know, I simply knew what to look for."

Though her confidence was visibly shaken, Batgirl's voice was still strong as she made her last plea, "He could be killed, if you cared for him at all…please help."

Selina gripped the edges of the porcelain sink once again. There it was, the question that'd been gnawing at her for some time now, waiting for a final answer:

What was her relationship with Batman? Were they friends or foes?

 

* * *

 

Batman woke to the cold comfort of cement beneath his cheek. He quickly assessed his surroundings – he was alone in a cement room with only a door for entry and exit, a standard holding cell. Confident there'd be no immediate danger, Batman rose into a sitting position and examined himself. He'd suffered a concussion, along with a bruised right wrist, a deep gash on his right thigh, and what felt like some broken ribs on his left side.

Damn it! He calmed himself immediately, focusing on his breath.

Inhale.

Exhale.

He started to begin strategizing various methods of escape, but rejected all of them as implausible.

Damn it! Seriously, two beautiful women managed to trick him? Was he really that gullible or was he missing some factor? Dick had implied that it was his emotions that kept him from seeing the truth about Selina, and Barbara had said he so eager to save Talia that he didn't really see who she really was. Had his emotions really overpowered his logic? And if that was true, what steps could he take to ensure it never happened again?

He brooded over it for what seemed like hours. Then the door opened and a hooded figure stepped in, closing the door softly. Batman recognized the figure was female, and then the hood was thrown back to reveal Talia.

Batman felt no need to dance around the question haunting him, "Why?"

Talia kneeled beside him taking his arm, and Batman didn't have it in him to wrestle it away. "Oh, beloved, why couldn't you have just said yes? We could be celebrating our honeymoon right now."

Only one response presented itself, "I'm not your beloved."

Talia recoiled as though he'd hit her. "What Father asks for isn't so much."

Batman closed his eyes, he'd become so tired, "He's using you, can't you see that, Talia?"

Talia removed her arm from his, "My father loves me."

Batman remembered several case studies about people staying in abusive relationships. Unfortunately, apart from physically removing them from their abuser, there was little to be done until the abused realized their own self-worth and recognized the problem.

Talia was overcome with emotion once again, attempted to kiss him, but Batman turned his head away. She retreated from him.

This was the moment in which Ra's entered and called her to his side. She followed his instruction like a well-taught dog. Ra's extended his arms as he addressed his foe, "How are your accommodations, detective?"

In response, Batman gave him his deadliest glare.

Ra's smiled smugly as two of his men entered and grabbed Batman by the arms forcing him to stand. Ra's walked to stand only feet away from Batman and said, "This is your last chance, join me."

Batman's response was to take out the two guards holding him. Within a blink of the eye he'd grabbed Ra's by the throat, but before he could issue his own threat Talia kicked him in his already broken ribs, he crumbled from the pain. He held his side and watched as Ra's moved to his daughter, and gently caressed her face, she found comfort in the gesture. Ra's turned back to his foe, "You see how wonderful my daughter is? Together the two of you will create the perfect son."

Batman pushed himself onto his elbows. "An heir? What use is that to you Ra's, when you live forever?"

Ra's made a move with his cape and two more goons came to grab Batman again, this time dragging him to follow Ra's and Talia. Batman struggled to figure out a plan as he fought through the pain. Ra's began explaining his dastardly plot, "Ah yes, the Lazarus Pits give me eternal life, but I grow weary of this world and its self-destructive ways. I need someone worthy to help me bring forth a new world order…"

Batman mostly ignored him. He'd heard this monologue enough to get the general idea. He slowly began to thumb a Batarang up to his palm. When Ra's reached the crescendo of his plan, holding out his arms in triumph before one of his Pits, Batman threw.

Ra's fell into the Pit and Batman whirled around to take out the man on his left. The man on his right got a hit in, as he'd had time to recover from being throw off of Batman's arm, but Batman finished the job shortly after. He turned to Talia, knowing that more of Ra's men had to be coming. "Talia."

She had a gun pointed at him. "Don't come any closer."

In attempt to get her to put her trust in him, Batman held up his hands, "Talia, please, you don't have to do this. Right now, you have a chance to escape your father."

Talia's eyes shifted, but her gun didn't falter. "My place is by my father's side."

Batman tried once more, "Talia, you can change."

Talia's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry, beloved." She pulled the trigger, but at that instant a whip curled around her gun and pulled the exiting bullet off course. Talia looked around to see what had happened, and her face met a fist.

"You know, if you want to talk to distract him as you inch towards the exit, that's fine. But just talking to brag about your plan, that's why you people always lose." Catwoman explained as she wrapped her whip back around her waist.

Talia wasn't amused and aimed a kick at her feet, which Catwoman avoided with a back flip. Batman tore his eyes away from the distraction of the two beauties fighting to deal with the incoming threats of Ra's men. He threw another Batarang to take out one of the goons as he entered, but quickly saw he'd be too outnumbered to fight them all at once, so Batman threw a line up to be able to drop himself in their midst.

After what seemed like an endless barrage of kicks, punches and dodges, Batman found himself to be the only man standing. Unfortunately, his victory was short-lived as he turned to find himself facing a newly risen Ra's Al Ghul.

Batman immediately reacted, but Ra's was quicker, knocking Batman back to crash into a wall, which inflamed all of his previous injuries. Batman mentally blocked out the pain, to deal with it at a time he was able, and knocked Ra's back with a punch of his own. But still, his moves were sluggish as Ra's was at his strongest and Batman realized quickly he was losing their fight.

Ra's realized it too and began to taunt him, "My Pits could cure you of your weakness." He punched Batman in the stomach and Batman hid his flinch as another rib cracked. "As my follower you would never feel pain again, and together we could change the world."

Out of the corner of his eye Batman caught Catwoman's eyes, she was struggling with Talia on the edge of the raised platform. Silently and within a second they formed a battle plan, and Batman flung a Batarang at Talia at the same instant Catwoman let go of her, throwing the woman off the edge. Catwoman used the distraction of Talia's scream to wrap her whip the father's feet, tripping him over the other edge.

Batman noticed the building crumbling around them as the pain overtook him and he collapsed.

 

* * *

 

Catwoman saw him fall, but before she could run to his side she heard Talia call from the edge. She looked over to see the other woman hanging on by her fingertips, she said, "Please, help me."

Catwoman nearly sneered, "I'm no hero. I hope you drop."

She walked away, not giving the other woman a second thought as she rushed to Batman's side. He was still breathing, but appeared to unconscious. The building was crumbling around them. She nearly cursed. Why must the lair always fall apart once the fighting was over?

She did curse as she tried to lift Batman. She always hired henchmen whenever a job was going to require any heavy lifting, and mass of Batman's collected muscles definitely qualified as such. Abandoning any hope of lifting him, Catwoman quickly switched tactics taking him by the hands and dragging his body from the wreckage.

It took longer than she would've liked, but she'd nearly reached the exit when she heard the police sirens. She cursed again. She'd forgotten that Batgirl had went to go get the cops, and Commissioner's daughter or not, Catwoman doubted even Batgirl could help her (or Batman) avoid time in Blackgate. Catwoman thought it over quickly and dived for Batman's belt, trying to remember which compartment held the remote that called his car.

She found a remote that looked right and pressed the button, hoping it was what she needed. She then straddled Batman and began to lightly tap his cheek, trying to wake him. "Batman, I need you to wake up for a moment."

He groaned and his eyelids began to flutter when Catwoman heard the roar of the Batmobile over the police sirens. She realized it wasn't slowing and threw herself over Batman's body as it burst through the entrance.

The noise had aroused Batman enough that his eyes were open but tellingly dazed. Catwoman took advantage of the situation and used his brief moment of consciousness to instruct him that she needed him to stand. He assisted her in getting into his car but leaned on her heavily. She climbed in the passenger side, worried to leave him alone, and he didn't even seem to notice (which worried her even more). As if on autopilot he closed the top of the Batmobile and pushed some buttons that Catwoman assumed would take him home. He then lapsed back to the world of dreamless sleep.

Catwoman suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable as the car drove itself to an unknown location. Part of her automatically began trying to map where they were going, as the location of Batman's Cave was an extremely profitable piece of knowledge. But the scenery was passing by too quickly and there weren't any easily identified markers for her to use. Her uncomfortable feeling doubled when the car seemed to be driving into a solid stone wall, though to her credit she didn't flinch as they passed through it.

When the vehicle came to a stop and the latch opened again, Catwoman tentatively poked her head up, trying to anticipate any other surprises. Upon seeing the Batcave, her breath caught and she stood to take it in like a starry-eyed fangirl. It was better than she could've possibly imagined.

"Master Bruce?"

Catwoman turned quickly to see an equally stunned Alfred Pennyworth. For a moment she didn't get it, "Alfred?" Her eyes widened suddenly and turned back to the unconscious costumed man, Batman, Bruce Wayne. "Holy shit!"

Though her shock wasn't even close to subsiding, seeing his injuries again reminded her of the man's situation and she put everything else on hold. She instructed Alfred, "Help me."

Alfred was instantly there and the two of them carried the man out, and Alfred guided them to the medical bay.

 

* * *

 

Selina had removed her mask about an hour ago. It was all too much to take, finding out the identity of Batman (and discovering Bruce's secret) and watching Alfred treat him. She was back out in the more open part of the Cave, specifically she was checking out Batman's, or was it Bruce's, gallery of villain artifacts. She saw the giant penny featured in one of Harvey's favorite stories, a dinosaur she didn't know the story behind, along with many other things both familiar and unfamiliar. She nearly laughed when she came to a glass case with one of her costumes though. It was the one of her few with a skirt; she'd wondered where it had gone. Furthermore, she wondered how in the hell he'd gotten his hands on it.

"Miss," Alfred paused wondering what the appropriate way to address this woman would be. Since he'd gotten her attention with Miss he decided he'd just keep it at that, "He's still resting, but you may join him now if you'd like."

Selina bit her lip. She seriously considered running out and away, pretending this night never existed. She'd be happy to return to the days when she didn't know Batman and Bruce were the same person. As for Alfred, she was sure a villainess of her caliber could find a way to keep him quiet.

But it was simply too late.

She gathered herself and replied simply, "Thank you."

Alfred walked out of her view. Selina spent a few more moments studying her cat costume in the glass case. What was to become of Catwoman?

She went to Bruce, Batman.

Bruce's return to the world was a hazy experience; he felt a light touch caressing his cheek and without thinking said, "Talia."

Unknown to him, Selina stopped caressing his cheek, and whispered, "Bruce?"

He answered, "Rachel."

She nodded and dropped her hand; swallowing the hurt and reclaiming a cool, indifferent look quickly in time for his eyes to open.

Bruce observed Selina on his bed, but before he could say her name noticed she was unmasked but still in costume. He then immediately noticed he was in the Batcave, in his costume. His eyes narrowed, "What are you doing here?"

She smirked, a naughty twinkle in her eye, it was even more effective without the mask, "Making sure you got home safe and sound, stud. You took quite a beating."

Bruce shot up, though his body protested immediately and he leaned back slightly to satisfy its wishes. He spoke in his Bat growl, "You shouldn't be here, Catwoman."

Selina stiffened and matched his glare, "That scary growl of yours has never worked on me, Batman."

Bruce didn't like this; he was completely unprepared for this situation. Yes, he was prepared for a villain in the Batcave and even discovering his secret identity, but said villain wasn't supposed to be holding his hand while he recovered. He'd always struggled to deal with Catwoman, Selina, effectively, but that had to stop. He couldn't let his emotions master him. "What game are you playing?"

Selina rose from the bed, "This isn't a fucking rooftop, Bruce. Stop treating it as such."

Bruce replied, "You're Catwoman, Selina. How am I not supposed to treat this as a threat?"

Selina gave a throaty laugh, "I'm a threat to you? I may be a thief, but I've never been a true threat."

The detective in him felt complied to supply evidence, "You've thrown me off buildings and moving vehicles, drugged me, electrocuted me, led me into some Godforsaken death trap, slashed me with those damned claws of yours, do I really need to keep going?"

"You're the Goddamn Batman. All that shit's ever going to do is slow you down."

Bruce answered quietly, "I'll have you arrested, expose you."

Selina shot back, "And what's to stop me from exposing you in return? No honor among thieves and all that."

Bruce smirked as though she'd proven his point and replied evenly, "I'm no thief."

She remarked, "But you don't operate within the confines of the law either, Batman."

Bruce laid back and turned his head away from her, "Get out."

Selina raised a hand and looked like she was going to argue with him, but changed her mind and instead said, "Fine."

But before she leave she tossed one last precisely-aimed jab over her shoulder, "But tell me, Bruce, do you ever tire of loving women who don't love you back?"

Selina stormed up the stairs, still furious with the man she loved.

No, she wouldn't even think that.

She was surprised when she nearly ran into Alfred. Even in her sour mood, his gentleman brought out her lady, "I'm sorry, Alfred. I didn't see you there."

Alfred held up her cowl, "Don't forget this, Miss."

Selina glared, "I suppose you think I'm just like her too?"

Alfred didn't flinch, "No, nor does he, despite what he may say. He made a mistake in trusting her, but he never loved her, he only wanted to save her."

Selina said nothing. Then continued to walk up the stairs but at a regular pace now, with the butler escorting her. She tried her best to ignore him.

Until he asked, "Do you love him?"

She stopped, irritated. "I really don't need to hear how Bruce really does care, and treating me like shit is just how he shows it."

Alfred sighed. "Miss…Rachel left a note before she died, explaining that she only loved him as a friend and was going to marry another. He was under the impression she'd wait for him to stop being Batman, and that she loved only him. I burned the note, thinking it was for the best. But, I wonder…"

Instantly, Selina gave Alfred what he needed to hear. "Our first instincts are often the correct ones."

Alfred smiled. "I used to tell the young master that."

Selina faced Alfred. "You don't need to explain, Alfred. I'm not Talia. I'm not manipulating him to further some grand plan. And I'm not Rachel. I'm not the girl he wants to return to a time before his world shattered. Talia doesn't care about Bruce and Rachel held no love for Batman. They both loved an idea of him, but the real man lies somewhere between Batman and Bruce. And that's the man I love."

"So you would wait for him?"

Selina shook her head. "You're asking me the wrong question. I don't need to wait for him. If he gave up his mission for something as small as falling in love with a woman, I'd kick his ass on behalf of Gotham."

Alfred's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure I understand."

"Gotham needs Batman. Do you really think that just because he wants to settle down and have a family, maniacs like the Joker are just going to disappear? Bruce Wayne is the only man in existence who can be Batman, and if he were to stop that for any reason than true necessity, it'd be a waste and a tragedy. I wouldn't love the man who'd stop, and any woman who could is an idiot who doesn't deserve him." Selina continued her way to the exit.

Alfred recognized something in this woman, she understood the man he loved like a son in a way he never could. She had no fond memories of the sweet boy he once was, and would never remember him before the tragedy of his life as she nodded politely at his current decisions which she felt were borderline insane. She only knew the broken, jaded man he was now, and walked fearlessly in the darkness with him.

 

* * *

 

Catwoman lowered herself down to capture the jewel of the night, a necklace whose value matched that of the Hope Diamond, minus the curse. She snatched her prize and found herself back on the roof in seconds; she even had the spare time to pack up her equipment before she heard a female voice, "Catwoman? I thought you would've given up a life of crime."

Inwardly, Catwoman wondered if she was happy or upset that Batman wasn't making an appearance to apprehend her. Perhaps he was still recovering? She shook the thoughts away, the why didn't matter. She wanted to ignore Batgirl, but instead played with her newfound treasure, smiling slyly at the young sidekick. "And what made you think that?"

Batgirl blushed slightly, "I had thought with you're helping with Batman, you'd changed."

Catwoman's temper immediately flared, "And why must I be the one who changes?"

Batgirl stiffened, finding her confidence again, "What you do is wrong, Batman's path is just."

Catwoman began to walk around her foe, "So I fall in love with Batman and instantly change who I am for him?" She laughed, letting some of her natural darkness seep in, "And how exactly did you see this little fairy tale of yours end? The bad woman was declawed by the noble hero, giving up her life of crime in favor of protecting the city she once plundered." She grasped the necklace firmly, "What a ridiculous farce that would be."

Batgirl's chin jutted out. "He is a noble hero."

Catwoman nearly sighed, "Give up your crush on him, little girl. It's not going to lead you anywhere you want to go."

She was instantly defensive, "That's not true."

Catwoman almost felt sorry for the girl who'd one day have her heart broken. "I see. I sang that song for a while too."


	9. Well Met - Part 9

In the past couple of years, Selina had grown to hate Catwoman. She knew that threw her sanity into question, but frankly no longer cared. Catwoman was supposed to be an escape for her, a pure expression of her freedom, but it was turning into a trap.

It was all Bruce's fault. No, it was Batman's fault. He'd avoided her crime scenes for the most part since discovering the truth, usually sending Batgirl or the new Robin to do his dirty work for him. When he did seek her out, well, it wasn't the same. There was no playful innuendo, no cat and mouse (or more accurately naughty cat and self-righteous bat). The spark was gone. No, that was a lie. There was plenty of spark left between them. Actually, it was probably worse now that they knew exactly what they were missing, and had the full story as to what the other person offered. It was a bittersweet knowledge at best. Because every time Batman saw her now, he always kept her a safe distance away and insisted talking about crime fighting and never about her crimes. No, he asked for her opinion about what the Riddler's next clue would be, asked for her help with stopping the Joker's latest killing spree. And what killed her was that she helped him; she was letting herself become another part of the Bat family, taking the role of the reformed criminal, or at least the tamed one. What was next? Would she stake out her own portion of Gotham to patrol? Start taking in kittens, like Batman's robins?

Over her dead body.

Which brought her to the second Catwoman problem, if the other Rogues found out about the true nature of her relationship with Batman – to put it mildly, it would not go over well. Judgments would be made and it wasn't like when the next-door neighbor gossiped about the playboy billionaire who came and went at all hours from your penthouse. They'd fucking kill her.

She wasn't afraid of them, per say. She held her own with them, and cracked her whip and used her claws enough to silent any chatter about her softness (as she didn't kill) or her feelings for the Bat (which hinting about in her presence was a well-known way to get on her bad side). But her outward toughness couldn't stop the nightmares. Her favorite (read: the one she had the most) was the Joker, dressed in full judge regalia – white wig, black robe – banging a squeaky gavel and sentencing her as guilty.

Harley Quinn, dressed as a naughty cop, came over and unhooked her cuffs and said, "Sorry, Catty. Guess you should've kept your paws above the belt, huh?" She looked over and saw that her peers in the jury box were penguins.

As soon as the cuffs were gone, green vines wrapped themselves around her. Trapped, the Mad Hatter approached her, and then fiddled with her head while assuring her, "Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit."

When he finished, the Riddler approached, "Riddle me this – what do you get when you cross a cat with a bat?" He leaned in and nailed her in the stomach with his cane. She doubled over in pain, and he answered, "A dead woman."

Next was Victor Freeze, who simply looked at her sympathetically and put a cold hand on her shoulder, "Life, love, all bring only pain after all."

Now it was the Scarecrow's turn. He said nothing; just sprayed her with his gas and she relived every awful moment of her life. And was severely depressed by the high amount of negative events when she recovered.

Finally Two-Face appeared, pointing a double-barreled shotgun at her. He flipped his coin and an instant of remorse passed on his face before he took aim, "Sorry, kid. Bad luck catches up with us all sooner or later."

She felt the rip through her stomach as the vines loosened. And then Ivy whispered in her ear, "Who's queen of the underworld, now?"

Then she fell into a pit, where she could hear Killer Croc snarling, ready to feast.

That was when she woke up.

She sincerely doubted that they'd all work together in the manner of her dream, but didn't doubt the part about them punishing her, killing her. This was her state of mind when she heard her phone ring. She glanced at the caller id. It was Ivy. "Hello?"

"Catwoman," Ivy replied smoothly. "You must join us at the Iceberg for the celebration. Well, celebration or toasting to the dearly departed, depending on which side of the fence you're on today."

Selina's heart stopped, had Bruce died? She preceded cautiously, "Dearly departed? What exactly are we celebrating?"

Ivy's wicked grin could almost be heard over the phone, "Haven't you heard? A little birdie dropped dead."

Selina relaxed, relived by the news for a moment. She pushed thoughts of Bruce's pain from her mind, reestablishing her Catwoman persona, and she replied in her best teasing, silky tone, "We've ruled out natural causes I suspect?"

Ivy laughed. "Come to the Iceberg and you can hear the tale for yourself. One of Joker's henchmen is on his fifth retelling. Get here soon enough and you'll be able to catch the sixth show."

Selina was already fetching her costume, "Joker's not there to brag about it himself?"

"He's in critical condition at the hospital." She said it in a tone that betrayed her feelings, or lack thereof, for the sadistic clown.

Selina bent over to retrieve the clawed gloves she'd dropped and shifted the phone as she began dressing, "Well, keep the nobody talking. This is a story I want to hear and I'll be there shortly."

"Please, first the Joker kills Robin and then Batman practically breaks down and nearly beats the Joker to death, I'll keep him telling the story until his voice is hoarse."

Selina hung up, and threw the phone on the bed. Her costume was only half on, but she inhaled deeply, gathering the strength to listen to the story of Bruce's latest worst night ever. She had to listen to the story, because now that she knew that the story involved the Joker and ended with a dead Robin, her imagination would never stop.

And then after the appropriate amount of drinks and time, she'd seek out Bruce. Whether he liked it or not.

 

* * *

 

Bruce stared at the computer screen, trying desperately not to blink. Because every time he closed his eyes, he saw Jason. Jason broken and bleeding as the Joker beat him with a bloodied crow bar, Jason crying out to him for help, Jason's dead eyes.

Bruce did not look forward to his next confrontation with Scarecrow; Crane had a whole new bag of nightmares to unleash upon him.

He didn't let himself pause on those thoughts and went back to researching fixes for the Justice League satellite, a task he'd been putting off for too long. Every time the computer took a moment to fetch information, Bruce cursed internally because it gave him a moment to think and remember.

Jason Todd was dead.

He'd type until his fingers were bloody, he'd stay awake until his body collapsed from exhaustion, and he'd never stop. That was his edge, his preservation and determination are what make him the Goddamn Batman, and he would not let the Joker and a dead teenager derail his mission.

Jason Todd was dead, and it was Bruce Wayne, Batman's fault.

He continued to work, desperately trying to force his mind to only see how to repair a satellite with Kryptonian technology. Feelings were a weakness. He was no longer a child crying over his dead parents, he would not break because of this.

He should've saved Jason, he could've saved him, just like he could and should have saved his parents.

No, he'd only been a child when his parents died, he couldn't have been expected to stop that. But now he was Batman, one of the most skilled and highly trained men in the world. What was his excuse for Jason?

Why didn't he save Jason? Why did he fail him?

He gave up on his research and removed his cowl to study it. This was his face, a face that made even the most hardened criminals cower in terror. He'd built his myth carefully and built himself to endure any blow. All in the name of his Mission to save Gotham, to ensure that no child ever had to suffer the pain he'd suffered. But when did the price become too high? When would the sacrifice be too great?

"You know, it's never going to stare back."

Selina's voice helped Bruce to shut down his feelings, if just by practice, reinforcing the damn that had been threatening to break. He stood and turned to face her; she was in her Catwoman costume, leaning against the stairwell like nothing was wrong. He growled, "Why are you here, Catwoman?"

She stopped leaning and sashayed towards him. "You know, Bruce, we fucked for years, I think you can call me Selina."

Bruce didn't let her get to him, "You're not dressed as Selina."

Selina sat on his workstation, and Bruce frowned. There was a chair two feet away from where she was sitting. "I just came from the Iceberg. I'm sorry about what happened to Robin." Bruce had been prepared for the words, but they still hit him like a ton of bricks. He was receiving pity from the Catwoman; he forced the bile that had climbed up his throat back down. She continued, "I came to make sure you hadn't drowned yourself in a pit of self-loathing."

He growled again, "And why would I?"

She laughed at him. He wanted to hit her, and a moment after the thought crossed his mind, he despised himself for it. She said, "You may not be the champion of truth, justice, and the American way, but are you really going to lie to me, superhero? We both know you're blaming yourself for his death." She leaned forward, "Which is a crock of shit, by the way. Robin made his choices and paid the price. I sincerely doubt you didn't make it clear from the beginning that being a vigilante isn't like playing pretend on the playground, where the good guys always win and nothing bad ever happens to the determined child."

Bruce answered so quietly Selina almost didn't hear him, "I could've done more."

Selina didn't know what to say to make him stop blaming himself, so she spread her dangling legs, took Bruce's hands and pulled him between them, hugging him without really hugging him, giving him the only comfort he'd accept from her.

Bruce stared at his hands, as Selina was still holding them. He asked, "How did you find out?"

Selina's eyes hadn't left Bruce's face. She answered, "I told you, I just came from the Iceberg."

Bruce snorted and tried to remove his hands, but Selina wouldn't let him. He was growling again, "Joker bragging?"

Selina answered calmly, "No. He's still in the ICU. But tonight was the only night is was acknowledged among the Gotham Rogues that the Joker is the Batman's greatest enemy."

Bruce inhaled and asked again, "Why are you here, Selina?"

She shrugged, "I thought you'd be lonely."

What an infuriating response. Still, Bruce didn't remove his hands. Until his eyes drifted to her thighs, her perfect, leather incased thighs. He let his hands drift to those thighs, caressing them softly. She didn't stop him. And when he grew tired of that, his hands drifted to her waist, where he fingered her whip for a moment before asking, "Why a whip?"

Selina's eyes had been closed and her breathing controlled, but she opened them at the question, "What?"

Bruce voiced a question that had always plagued him, "Is it the kinky sex thing?"

Selina smiled softly. "No. Unlike a knife or a gun, a whip isn't a common weapon or easy to use. It takes years of training to be half as good as I am with it, so if an opponent was to disarm me, chances are they wouldn't be able to use it against me."

Bruce's brow furrowed with the new information. "That makes sense."

"Of course it does. I don't know where you got the idea I was unintelligent."

One corner of his lips turned upward for a brief second. Selina nearly broke out in a grin at the sight of it. Bruce's deep blues tore through Selina's emerald greens, but she didn't look away or flinch. He fingered the edge of her cowl, "I want to see your face."

Selina didn't hesitate to remove her cowl, she threw it aside on the keyboard of the Bat computer. Bruce moved his hands from her face to finger her hair. Selina enjoyed the feeling, but was acutely aware of how large his hands were as they could almost encompass her head. Not only that, but Bruce's hands were Batman's hands, they could crush her skull if he placed them just so…

The thought made her shudder though she wasn't sure why.

Bruce took her chin and made her look at him. He asked, "Are you afraid of me?"

Selina knew he was looking for her to say no, but she hated to be predicable. So she used her legs to grip him tightly and pulled his face down to hers. She used her deepest Catwoman purr to answer him, "Everyone's afraid of Batman."

She didn't give him time to react, sealing his lips with hers. He stiffened for a moment before bringing his hands to her ass, lifting her from her perch and bringing her closer to him. How many nights had he fantasized about this? He couldn't remember, he didn't want to remember the number of times he'd stopped himself from thinking about the thief he wanted.

He'd used Selina to block his thoughts of Catwoman, and after discovering her identity he could no longer employ such a strategy. So that every time he'd met with Catwoman and every time he'd seen Selina across the room as some annoying beauty whispered nonsense in his ear – there had been no way to sate his lust. He'd used her to forget so many times. What was one more time? He flexed his fingers and grunted at the feel of her soft curves.

She shuddered again and gasped into his ear, "Oh Batman."

Bruce picked her up fully and slammed an unmasked Catwoman into the nearest cave wall, consuming her mouth with a ferocity he would've controlled if he'd been with anyone else. Selina arched her back, from pleasure and to escape the rough, cold cave wall, but Bruce forced her back, pinning her to the wall as his lips moved to her neck. He was the only man she would've let get away with such a controlling action, but in retaliation, she extended her Catwoman claws and tore them down his back. The Kevlar protected him from feeling any more then their sharp impact though this suit was tattered beyond repair now, if there had been any question before.

His hips were pressed so tightly against her he no longer needed his arms to hold her up, so he grabbed her hands and placed them above her head. He used one of his hands to keep them there and used his teeth to rid his other hand of his glove. He then used his ungloved hand to cup her breast as his mouth found hers once again. His hand wandered…

She enjoyed his ministrations for a while, but as soon as she found a weakness she used it to throw them to the ground, landing with her on top, straddling his waist. Her claws were still extended so she used them to grip the bat emblem on his chest, furrowing and retracting much like a cat would. She fell forward and whispered in his ear, still using her sultry Catwoman voice, "Tell me, how does one get you out of this suit?"

She pulled back; dragging her claws down, mirroring the marks she'd left on his back. He moved to sit up, but she threw herself at him using her weight to knock him back, attaching her mouth to his. It was her turn now. She distracted him as she disarmed him, flinging his belt aside. God only knows what she might accidentally trigger pressing the wrong button on that thing. After exploring every well-defined crevice covered by latex, she figured out how to remove the suit. But she only had it pulled off to his waist before he grabbed her wrists and rolled them, once again gaining the upper hand.

He'd already figured out how to get hers off and he unzipped her costume. However as he slowly peeled the skintight garment from her to match his state of undress, he realized that fantasies aside, he'd never done this in the Batsuit. He hesitated. Would such an act cheapen Batman? Cheapen the Mission that Jason had paid the ultimate price for?

Selina had come to the same realization as Bruce at the same time, but had no such hang-ups about cheapening what her costumed persona stood for. In fact, if she wanted to face the truth, while her suit was skintight due to the thieving nature of her work (after all it did no good to leave traces of evidence from loose clothes caught on snags), part of the design was completely sexual in nature to throw off Batman. But even as she felt the pleasure of victory, she noticed his dark face and could guess where his thoughts had taken him. She immediately placed two of her fingers under his chin to guide his face to look at hers. She spoke softly, "Bruce, look at me. Come back to me."

Bruce's eyes reconnected with hers for a moment, then drifted south. Selina enjoyed his gaze, but enjoyed his mouth grazing what he'd been studying so carefully even more. Her hands began to comb his hair as her hips pressed harder into his.

Out of the corner of his eye, Bruce spotted his discarded belt. A plan formed instantly in his mind and he further distracted Catwoman, Selina, so she wouldn't notice him grabbing something from his belt.

Selina was taken completely off-guard when Bruce lifted them, but her confusion didn't last long as Bruce's mouth found hers once again. Eventually he stopped walking and laid her down gently. He then removed the remainder of her clothing as well as his own. For a moment, Selina was disappointed. Without the costumes they were just Bruce and Selina, who'd done this a million times before.

That was until she realized what she was lying on.

The Batmobile.

And when Bruce joined her, entered her, he pushed a hidden button and revived the car's engine. Selina could only describe the feeling as an instant explosion. So this was the sex that romance novelists made their living on, the kind of sex that made you just give in to death because nothing in life would ever be able to top this moment. The kind every person dreamed about, the kind she always knew she would have with Batman.

She smiled. Even the fragmented remains of her over pleasured mind could piece together that costumes or not, tonight she'd be with the Batman she'd always wanted, and not the Bruce she'd always had.

She fell apart in his strong arms, but they kept her steady and safe. She nearly laughed as she hugged him, she'd come here to save him, but he was always the hero.

 

* * *

 

It was a familiar dance, but so different. There were only two people in the bed (or on the floor or against the door or in the shower) this time, though their identities were free flowing. Their lovemaking was tender, focused, and truly intimate but always teetered on the edge of the violent, messy, primal act that rested at its core. But then that matched them perfectly because these were two humans with complete control over their developed bodies who were also dangerous, violent, and unafraid to routinely explore their dark sides. They were two human beings who loved one another, for better or worse. That night they shared everything of themselves. There were no secrets, no holding back.

It was different this time because there was no condoms, no protection of any kind.

 

* * *

 

Bruce woke up and looked to his left.

She was gone.

He closed his eyes, and part of him wished he could go back to sleep, where Selina was with him and Jason was still alive.

"Hey, old man."

That kept him awake. Bruce sat up and saw Dick, who thankfully wasn't looking at him with his usual distain and hatred. "Dick, what are you doing here?"

Dick shrugged, "Alfred called. Apparently those were Miss Kyle's instructions to him as she made her exit like a bat out of hell." Dick smirked, "No pun intended."

Which meant the pun was certainly intended. Jesus, Bruce rubbed his head, he needed coffee before dealing with Dick's sense of humor.

Dick leaned forward as he sat cross-legged on the chair in Bruce's bedroom. If he'd know what had taken place there earlier, he would've jump up in disgust, but he was blissfully unaware of the details of exactly how Selina had comforted Bruce. Though the fact that Bruce was almost certainty naked under his sheet seemed like a clue. Dick decided to ignore the obvious though and said, "The League sends its regrets."

Bruce rubbed his head. "And they sent you rather than coming themselves?"

Dick shrugged again, "Clark might stop by at some point, but frankly Bruce, most of them think you're unstable on your best days and are at least slightly afraid of you."

The mention of people being afraid of him made Bruce flash back to the night before. He rubbed his temples harder. He didn't need this right now. "Dick I really don't need company right now."

"I beg to differ." Dick leaned back, throwing his arm on the back of the chair. "And judging from the state of your bed and Alfred mentioning Miss Kyle's state of disarray, I highly doubt you were alone last night. It's the only reason I waited until morning once I heard the news. I wanted to make sure you got some sleep."

Bruce gave him a death glare, but after being exposed to them so often over the years, Dick had built up an impressive immunity to them. His face grew serious, "It wasn't your fault. Jason made his own choices."

The fact that Dick was sounding like Selina made Bruce want to run away, just leave Gotham, if only for a moment. He thought about how every inch of the city had something to remind him of Jason, the boy he'd failed. Bruce's mind stalled at the mere thought of it. God. He had to leave Gotham.

Now that he had a plan, Bruce removed his hands from his head and said, "I need to get out of Gotham." He looked up at his former protégé, "Would you like to come with?"

Dick was shocked. Not just by Bruce admitting he needed a vacation, but that he'd been asked to accompany him on said vacation. His answer was almost automatic. "Sure."

Now that a plan was in place, something deep inside of Bruce settled. "I'll make the arrangements. I'm thinking Tokyo first." Bruce threw his legs off the bed, but kept the sheets around his waist, looking at Dick expectantly. But Dick was still too deep in shock to pick up on the prompt. So Bruce said, "Dick, I'm naked under this sheet, and need a shower. You're in my way, and I doubt you want to stay."

Yeah, Dick definitely didn't want to see anything under the sheet. He hastily removed himself.

 

* * *

 

Selina loved Gotham. The city had a heartbeat and a feeling that was unique to any other place in the world. Its citizens were just as unique, for better or worse. It was her home in every sense of the word.

God, she would miss it.

Ted Grant returned from the bathroom, as soon as he sat again he looked at the key she'd pushed across the table to him once again. He picked up the conversation from where they'd left it. "Now let me see if I've got this straight. You're giving me the key to your paid for penthouse because you're leaving Gotham."

Selina was slightly annoyed by his disbelief. "I didn't realize moving was such a difficult concept for you, Ted."

"I don't believe it." He slapped his hand on the table, drawing the attention of some of the more cultured patrons, and Selina thought she should've picked a less upscale restaurant for this as she briefly scanned the crowd for familiar faces. "I just don't fucking believe it."

"It's happening whether you believe it or not."

Selina smiled and Ted was as charmed by it as any breathing man. "Well, I don't want your place. It's too rich for my humble and rough tastes."

Surprisingly Selina didn't put up a fight, which made Ted suspect that she'd been planning for this to be his reaction from the start. "Fair enough. Then just make sure no one goes into it and feed my cat for the time being."

Ted wondered if any of this had anything to do with Batman's recent disappearance. The Dark Knight hadn't been spotted in Gotham for over a month now. But he pushed the thought aside. "Where are you going?"

Selina glanced at the surrounding crowd again. Jesus, she was getting as paranoid as Bruce. "I think the less you know, the better."

Ted sat in disbelief for a moment more before slapping the table again, "Well then, this calls for a drink." He grabbed the passing waiter. "Two glasses of your finest scotch for me and the lady."

Selina instructed, "Just one glass, but I'll take another lemon water."

The waiter nodded and went off to fetch their drinks, but Ted wore a confused expression on his face. "Since when do you not drink scotch?"

Selina evaded the question, "Since when do you care about my drinking habits?" The waiter had returned with their drinks and Selina thanked him. She held up her glass and waited for Ted to match her action, after which she toasted, "To new beginnings and brighter days."

Ted added, "Along with old friends and dark secrets."

Ted slammed back his drink while Selina merely took a sip. Ted continued his perusal, "Seriously though, what's with the lemon water, are you pregnant or something?"

Most people wouldn't have noticed the way Selina stiffened at the word pregnant, as though she'd been caught. But Ted wasn't most people. He cursed. "Who's the father?"

Selina knew better than to try lying. She removed the napkin from her lap and softly wiped non-existent crumbs from the corners of her mouth. She placed the napkin on empty space before her silently signaling to the waiter that they were finished with the meal and needed the check. She looked to a spot to the right of Ted's head and replied softly, "You know the answer to that."

Ted cursed again as the waiter brought over the check. Selina grabbed the bill before Ted could protest and gave it back to the waiter with her card. Once the waiter was gone Ted grumbled quietly, "So when is the little bat-kitten to be born then?"

Selina leaned forward threateningly; pointing a well manicured and sharp nail in Ted's face and said in her deadliest tone, "There is no bat-kitten. Understand?"

She leaned back and smiled at the waiter charmingly as he returned. She signed the bill as Ted fetched his wallet to leave the tip. They rose together. Selina smiled at Ted now completely dropping her previous animosity though Ted could still feel it under surface even as she gave him a parting hug. She kissed his check, leaving behind a trace of red lips, "I'll miss you, old man."

"Right back at you, kid."

 

* * *

 

Batman had, enjoyed wasn't the right word but the best he could come up with, his time away with his adoptive son. But it'd been over a month since his return to Gotham and he had yet to even see Selina, or even Catwoman. He had been hoping…

Well, he wasn't quite sure what he'd been hoping would happen with her, but after observing her apartment for a week he still had yet to spot any activity within it. So tonight he decided to take action and entered through her balcony.

The place hadn't changed from when he'd last been in it, but his instincts told him it was somehow empty. That's when he spotted the Catwoman costume on the coffee table. He walked over to it and carefully picked up the note that'd been placed on top of the leather outfit. It was short and to the point:

_You finally got me to hang up my claws and whip. Please take care of Isis for me._

As if on cue, Batman felt the cat rub against his leg, purring. He instinctively looked for hidden clues in the message, but knew it only had one meaning.

She was gone.


	10. Epilogue

"I still don't see why I have to come along." Terry McGinnis took a sharp left, swinging the car around with the skill of a stunt driver. Bruce frowned. Terry had been Batman for over ten years now; he should know by now there was no need to draw attention to themselves, in the Batsuit or not.

"I need to be there because it's a medical breakthrough supported by what's left of my company. You're there to act as my…"

"Wet nurse?" Terry supplied, taking a right.

Bruce nearly sighed. "Do you even know what a wet nurse is?"

Terry smirked. "The guy who cleans up your old man drool?"

Bruce glared; the kid could be as bad as Dick at times. "I want you there as protection. This is a prime target for criminals, as almost all of Gotham's rich and powerful will be there, along with the most brilliant and secretive scientist of this age."

"Yeah, Bruce, I know. You've been talking about the guy's work for over a week now. The science may be over my head, but I got the genius part. He's practically you, minus the Bat fetish."

Bruce glared. Terry ignored him and continued to drive recklessly. The silence grew, and Terry felt the need to fill it with something, so he said, "It's kind of tacky though. That he goes by his first name, Dr. Kyle."

Bruce didn't comment, but he had always wondered about that name. The full name of the brilliant scientist had never been released, only Dr. Kyle. Bruce couldn't help but wonder if it was a first or a last name. After all, his last name could double as a first. Furthermore, he knew someone whose last name had been Kyle. In fact, after reading Dr. Kyle's first published article, Bruce immediately tracked it, hoping it would lead to the woman he'd lost. But the search had been a futile one. Science wasn't the doctor's only skill, gaining him (or her) total privacy from even the Bat family, which only increased Bruce's suspicions. It was amazing that such secrecy would be broken tonight for the world to see.

Terry screeched to a stop in front of the museum. Bruce glared at his protégé, but Terry simply shrugged and exited the vehicle handing the keys to the waiting valet. Bruce followed.

The museum was fully decked out. It reminded Bruce of past times, and he had to lean on his cane for extra support as the memories came flying back to him – memories of battling costumed criminals, dancing with beautiful women, and doing both with her. They'd met here, both as Bruce and Selina as well as Batman and Catwoman. Bruce closed his eyes gathering his strength. This is why he was so content to stay isolated in his mansion barely in the city limits, too much had happened in Gotham.

It was going to be a long night.

Bruce looked over at his "date" for the evening. McGinnis looked uncomfortable in a tuxedo. He hadn't born into a life a privilege and prestige and the kid was having trouble adapting. Bruce worried he wouldn't be able to be his successor in every way. He turned away and studied the room for a moment longer before, he said, "There are people here I need to talk to." He inclined his head. "Commissioner Gordon is over there if you'd like to talk with her."

Terry looked ready to run over to Barbara, but he restrained himself, turning back to Bruce, eyeing him carefully, "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Bruce stiffened, gripping his cane tightly again. "I'll be fine. Now go."

Terry knew better than to argue with Bruce when he got like this, so he walked over to Barbara stopping by the punch table to grab two glasses first. He held out the extra glass as his opener, "I saw you were empty."

She smiled, her wrinkles deepening around her eyes, "Thank you." She took a drink and he followed suit.

"Quite a party."

She nodded. "Bruce is here, I presume?"

Terry tipped his glass, watching the red liquid twirl. "Yep. What are you doing here?"

"Same thing as you, I'd wager. This is a prime target for the more colorful element of Gotham."

Terry agreed, "Nothing seems to attract the crazies like a good party."

Barbara took another drink before asking, "So what do you know about the famous doctor?"

Terry knew that she was really asking what Bruce knew; he gave the expected answer, which wasn't really an answer at all, "The guest of honor is some sort of prodigy. Doctor Kyle something. He invented a whole lot of stuff I didn't understand and basically cured cancer."

"What makes you so certain Dr. Kyle's a man?"

Terry's right eye twitched and he took a drink of his punch. "I'm not. Are you certain Dr. Kyle's a woman?"

Barbara finished her punch. "Did Bruce ever talk to you about Selina Kyle?"

Catwoman. "Yeah. But I doubt it's her, I don't recall her ever being big on the science thing." Terry's eyes began to scan the room, looking for Bruce.

"True enough." Barbara set down her empty cup. "So how's work treating you?"

Terry's eyes stopped. He was looking at a stunning woman in red strapless gown, with icy blue eyes, and full, straight black hair that went just past the edge of her dress. While her looks could put supermodels to shame, it was more than her perfect body that captivated him. It was the way she held herself, scanning the room the room as though she were looking for a challenge, but basking in the knowledge there was nothing she couldn't handle. Without looking Terry knew every eye was on this woman, every man was practically drooling with lust and every woman wanted to either claw her eyes out or be her. She was a rare and beautiful specimen. Then her eyes caught his and she smiled at him.

He didn't hear the Commissioner's question.

 

* * *

 

 

"Mr. Wayne, is that you?"

Bruce took the hand of Martin Fox, Lucius Fox's son, "Yes. It's nice to see you again."

"And under much better circumstances." That was true enough, the last time Bruce had seen Martin had been at Lucius's funeral. "I didn't realize you were into science."

Bruce answered, "Your father may have been the brains behind the face so to speak, but I still was the majority stockholder."

Martin smiled. "That's true." His eyebrows shot up as if he'd just remembered something, "Did you get a program? I think they may have run out early."

Bruce frowned; any soiree he'd thrown in the past never ran out of anything. Crazy people in costumes often interrupted them, but at least there was still champagne to be had after Batman's eventual appearance. He supposed it was just a sign of the declining times. He took the program and looked for information about the doctor. He immediately noticed something about the name that made his stomach twist. Dr. H. Kyle. Kyle was the last name. He wondered what the H stood for, Henry perhaps, a man as old as he was, an old costume like him, exposing his genius to the world. But even as the thought crossed his mind, his stomach twisted again.

How long had it been since he'd seen Selina? Almost thirty years.

Martin continued talking, but Bruce's mind was elsewhere, his eyes scanning the room. He spotted a familiar figure and a perfect stranger.

He didn't recognize the woman's face, but the way she held everyone's attention effortlessly, the way she held herself, everything about her was familiar to him. He turned back to Martin, "Excuse me."

Where the hell was McGinnis?

 

* * *

 

 

Barbara was still talking with him, and Terry was giving appropriate responses, at least he hoped that’s what he was doing. His attention had yet to leave the beauty in the middle of the room. He noticed that she'd barely spoken with anyone. He understood why people would be intimidated to approach her. He wondered if she knew anyone here, and if not, why was she here?

He felt a strong hand grasp his shoulder and knew it wasn't Barbara. He fought against the instinct to flip the unknown person and simply turned to see Bruce. He recognized the intense look right away, and nearly sighed. He was about to be ordered to do something he really wouldn't want to do. Bruce nodded his head in the direction Terry had been looking, "You see that woman in the red dress?"

I've been starring at her for at least five minutes. "Yes."

"I need you to go dance with her."

Terry briefly wondered why Bruce wanted him to do that, but wasn't about to protest against the best order the old man had ever given him. "Okay."

Barbara raised an eyebrow at her former partner. Once McGinnis scampered away, she asked simply, "Why?"

Bruce's eyes didn't leave his apprentice. "Must there always be a reason?"

"With you, yes."

Bruce ignored her questioning, turning away from Terry, "How are you, Barbara?"

Barbara knew the trick of changing the subject and diverting a curious subject's attention, she knew this trick because Bruce had taught it to her. However, she also knew if Bruce was attempting to change the subject, it meant she wouldn't get any further with her inquisition. "I'm fine." She looked at her empty glass. "Why don't you go get us something to drink?"

Bruce was suspicious, but he nodded and left. Barbara turned her attention to Terry, who was approaching his target. Barbara studied the woman – she looked familiar, somehow.

 

* * *

 

 

"Hello."

The woman in red looked surprised but answered, "Hello."

Terry regretted not putting much thought into what he'd actually say once he approached her, for some reason he'd thought "Hello" would be inspiring. Even though in the history of men approaching woman, the word had never gotten any man far. He improvised, "Would you like to dance?"

She bit her lip, thinking over the decision. Terry wasn't sure what to make of that. She seemed to argue with herself for a moment, putting more into the decision than Terry thought necessary, before she nodded, "Sure, why not?"

He took her hand, and as he led her to the dance floor, he asked, "Why did you hesitate?"

"Oh, well…um…" She knotted her eyebrows, weighing her responses. She shook her head suddenly as if to clear it. "You know, it doesn't matter. I said yes." She smiled and Terry felt the pit of his stomach lurch. "So can you dance…" She trailed off, waiting for him to supply a name.

"Terry, Terry McGinnis."

She smiled again. "Terry."

Reaching their destination, Terry spun the woman so they were facing one another, ready to go. For an instant Terry panicked, forgetting that he did in fact know how to dance.

She teased, "Do I need to lead?"

Terry smirked (though a twitching eyelid displayed his irritation) and stepped to the side. His partner followed, and it didn't take long for him to recognize that she was far more skilled. But Terry wasn't one to back down from a challenge so he began using more difficult moves, and she matched them with no effort. He'd change directions quickly as though trying to escape and she'd pursue, then he'd begin chasing her and she'd avoid him gracefully. He'd spin and dip her, and she'd do it in a way that left them both gasping for breath. They were perfectly synced, but their stiff frames and tight expressions signaled that this was a battle as much as it was a ballet.

In its most basic essence, dancing is nothing but a series of rhythmic motions set to a beat. With the right partners, however, it can be elevated to something more, something magical that can show two people have just fallen in love in Victorian romances and musical theatre. Though in some cases, two people dancing may just be a less graphic way to stage a fight. Or have sex.

This dance included all of the above, as a fight for dominance between two people used to being on top.

When it ended, their faces were inches from each other and drops of sweat were threatening to fall. Terry took a step back and gathered his breath before smiling, "Not bad. So what's your name?"

He'd seen the look she was now wearing in a hundred movies, when the mysterious vixen teases the hero. She said, "You're going to have to work a little harder than that, Mr. McGinnis."

He imitated the hero's responding smirk the best he could. "Hard work has never scared me off."

She smiled and nodded. "It was nice to meet you."

Terry nodded as well, "You too."

She looked to the stage, focusing on something Terry couldn't see. "Excuse me." She stepped away walking quickly in the direction of Bruce, Barbara and an unknown woman's back. Terry followed her. She stopped and to prevent running into her, he did as well. Before he could go around her, she started again. Then she stopped again and spun around to face him properly. "Please don't follow me."

"I'm not, just walking in the same direction as you."

She looked as though she didn't believe him, but continued walking. He followed her.

 

* * *

 

 

"Hello Barbara."

Barbara turned her head and saw an older version of one of the most stunning women she'd ever met. Unlike herself, or even Bruce, this woman had aged well. Barbara guessed it was an advantage to getting out of the game early. The other woman's beauty was still present, but with slightly more puckered skin, shorter, silver hair and a bit more stiffness in a graceful walk that had once been impossibly smooth. "Selina."

Selina studied Barbara, much like she'd been studied. Then her eyes stopped. "I hear you're police commissioner now. Congratulations." She tipped her glass.

"Thank you. And what have you been up to for all these years?"

Selina smiled, as if laughing at a private joke, "Nothing for you to worry about."

Babara lowered her voice, "Haven't changed a bit have you, Catwoman?"

Selina responded just as quietly, "Watch what you say, Batgirl."

Babara returned to her normal tone, "So what brings you back?"

Elusive as ever, Selina continued to give infuriating responses, "Oh, this and that."

Done playing coy, Barbara asked, "Here to see a Bat?"

"So Bruce is here? I'd wondered."

"Don't start pulling that act. It never worked on me."

Selina dropped the pretense; facing her accuser coolly, "Tell me, Barbara, did you ever manage to act on your crush?" Her green eyes danced, much like they did when she knew she'd already gotten away. "I mean, we all know you certainly had a relationship with the first Robin, but you always held a torch for daddy Bat." She leaned in, savoring the victory in a way that only a true villain can, "How did it work out?"

Barbara wanted to punch the other woman, more than she ever had when they were Batgirl and Catwoman. "How dare you."

Selina smirked and she softened her voice so no one else could hear her, "I was a villain, in Gotham no less, daring is an essential part of the job description."

Barbara set down her glass, trying to get her sudden anger under control, "I never did like you, Selina."

Selina smiled, "You've never liked me Barbara because I won. He was mine more than anyone else's."

Barbara glared, "What are you talking about?"

Selina was about to respond when a deep voice interrupted her. "Hello Selina."

Bruce had returned with their drinks. Barbara cursed his timing. All these years, and Bruce could still show up at just the right or wrong moment.

Selina slipped back into a cool expression, "Hello Bruce. It's been too long."

A lesser woman would've withered under Bruce's angry gaze, "Whose fault is that?"

Selina was about to answer when another woman interrupted. "Mom, they're about to start." Barbara recognized her as the beauty that McGinnis danced with earlier. Bruce's anger disappeared, and he quickly made his face impassive.

Terry was right behind the stranger, he looked at Selina, who he'd never seen before, and politely said, "Hello."

Selena quickly studied the man who just danced with her daughter and then proceeded to ignore him. "Barbara Gordon, Bruce Wayne, may I introduce my daughter, Helena?"

The kid had it wrong. Barbara tried not to stutter, "Doctor Kyle?"

Helena smiled. "Why does everyone always look so surprised? Like you can only be beautiful, intelligent or a woman but never all three at once."

Barbara forgot how to breathe. "I assure you that's not it."

Helena looked ready to ask her what it was but held back. Barbara looked to Bruce for some kind of direction, as though she were a teenager again. His face was still in a controlled look that betrayed nothing outwardly.

Bruce had figured that Helena was Selina's daughter immediately, but when she said the word mom, it still felt like a punch to the gut. He studied the girl with the techniques he'd used to try to identify the Joker, ones that mapped her facial features in terms of genetic background. At first glance it appeared she looked just like her mother, and she did possess her mother's mouth, nose, and eye shape. But her eyes were blue instead of her mother's green, and her dark hair had no hint of her mother's curl. And the shape of her face actually reminded Bruce of his mother's. "How old are you, doctor?"

She glared, "What an inappropriate question."

Selina answered for her daughter, "She's 29, Bruce."

He nodded, remembering it's been thirty years since he'd seen Selina. And it all came together, why Selina left and hid, how a mysterious stranger could match his wits. Of course, he had no concrete proof, but he didn't believe in coincidences this convenient.

Selina, fed up with the sudden silence, lit a cigarette, and Helena turned to her mother, frowning, "Mom, you can't smoke here."

Selina shrugged. "What are they going to do, arrest me? I've never been arrested in my life. Not about to start now."

Bruce said, "It's killing you."

She met his gaze, "I've done much worse for my health."

Both Helena and Terry didn't miss the exchange, and they both heightened their guard as a natural response. Helena noticed a man waving for her to come to the stage, "It was a pleasure meeting all of you, but if you'll please excuse me."

 

* * *

 

 

After more fanfare than Terry thought necessary, the mysterious Dr. Kyle was introduced to the astonished crowd. Terry took a quick glance around and noticed that both Selina Kyle and Commissioner Gordon had slipped off. He put it aside and listened to Helena.

"As I start, let me clear up a common misconception about me." Terry waited for her to point out the obvious—she wasn't a man. "I did not cure cancer. I simply found a way to slow cancer's effects without poisoning your body with chemotherapy." She continued to speak, but now she was talking shop. Terry wasn't dumb but every other word she spoke went over his head. Bruce looked intently on her though, totally focused. In Terry's experience, it was never a good look, as it usually meant he wouldn't be getting any sleep any time soon.

Terry refocused when it came to the question/answer portion of the night. The first journalist asked her about her invention. She smiled and explained it would be easier to show. She then dazzled the crowd with an invention, which if Terry hadn't been in close contact with Justice League technology would've dazzled him too. One asked her how she was enjoying Gotham. She expressed her love for the town (her mother's hometown) and her respect for Batman.

The next journalist had a high-pitched voice, "Miss Kyle…"

Helena interrupted, "Doctor, please. Didn't go through all that hard work to be called Miss after all." She said it with a smile, charming the crowd.

"Excuse me, Doctor." The journalist giggled as well. "Did being an attractive female ever hinder you from garnering respect? Is that why you often go by the misleading Dr. Kyle?"

Helena didn't react, and answered coolly, "Being an attractive female, as you say, would occasionally complicate things for me, but overall it had little bearing on my accomplishments. And Kyle is my last name, it's not meant to be misleading."

She smiled, and began to call on the next person, but the woman asked a follow-up. "If you had a father you could use his. Does not having one complicate things for you?"

Helena did react at that with narrowed eyes and tightened fist, but after taking a moment to collect herself, she answered, "I have a father, I simply wasn't raised by him. It has little bearing on my present actions." She attempted to move on again.

But the woman kept pushing, "So you feel no anger or resentment towards him? You aren't lashing out at the male population by conquering a field where they have dominance in?"

Helena assumed a calm look, a look Terry recognized, it was the same one Bruce got before he cut someone down to size. "I have no anger for my father, as my mother worked very hard to ensure he never knew I existed. It's hard to hate a man for not stepping up to the plate, when he didn't even know there was a game. And it's women like you with your trivial and unimportant questions and belief in the depth of pop psychology that force women like me to work twice as hard to earn respect. Excuse my ego for a moment, but you have a once in a lifetime chance to question one of the most brilliant minds of this century, and you ask me about my father? Next, you'll ask if I, like, have a boyfriend." The woman looked properly shamed and Helena regained her composure turning away from the woman she'd embarrassed. "Now if anyone else has questions that aren't of a personal nature, I'd be happy to answer them."

Terry turned to Bruce and said, referring to Helena, "You know, after I get past the fact that she's an intensely beautiful woman, she kind of reminds me of you, old man. Any secret love children you want to tell me about, Bruce?"

Bruce actually looked panicked, at least more so than Terry had ever seen before, "Keep your voice down, and you heard her, her father didn't know."

"You expect me to believe you didn't know?"

"Part of the reason Catwoman was never caught is that she was the best escape artist, and when she did not want to be found, even I couldn't find her."

"Did you look for her?"

Bruce ignored Terry at this point. Terry mumbled to himself, knowing Bruce could hear him, "Guess those brains of yours weren't lost after all. Amanda Waller went to a lot of trouble for nothing." Terry's attention returned to the stage just in time to see the child of Batman and Catwoman dazzle her audience once again.

 

* * *

 

 

As soon as the villain crashed the party, Selina rushed Helena out of the building. She knew too well how these things went and had no desire to see her daughter become a hostage. Her insider knowledge also helped her to know which exit would be lightly guarded. It took Helena less than ten seconds to get them in the back alley.

Helena looked to her mother, her curiosity written plainly on her face, "Since when do we run away?"

"Batman will save the day." Selina sighed, suddenly exhausted. "I know what's going to happen, and I just don't have the patience for it anymore."

Helena put a comforting hand on her mother's shoulder. She wondered what was really bothering her, but figured it was just the past. Her mother rarely spoke about Gotham, and eventually Helena had stopped asking, as it always saddened her mother.

"Why hello girly."

Selina was surprised to find herself encircled by at least ten men. Damn, had she really gone this soft? It used to be difficult to sneak up on her. She looked quickly to her daughter.

Helena's eyes had the same sparkle hers once got. It was the thrill of the fight. Selina had hoped her daughter would've kept out of danger, but who the hell was she kidding? Her daughter was the offspring of Batman and Catwoman; her blood would never turn from the excitement of the night. Already she could see Helena's body loosening itself subtly, preparing for the upcoming conflict.

One of the men, Selina saw he was dressed as a Joker now – good God one of that monster had been one too many, smiled widely, bright red lips stretching, "My, my, you are a pretty one."

Despite the implied threat, Helena's voice was steady, "Please let us pass."

A voice from behind answered, "You ain't going nowhere."

Helena counted the weapons, two lead pipes, one with chains, three guns, two knife men and the remaining three were cracking their knuckles. This would be a simple matter. "Please stand aside."

The man with chains attacked first. Helena caught them and used his momentum to bring his testicles to her knee with more force than she could've produced on her own. When he crumbled she threw him into the two men standing beside each other before they even thought to raise their guns.

She immediately went to the third man with a gun and broke his arm, forcing him to drop his gun. As he cried out in pain, she hit his throat robbing him of breath. He passed out.

On to the next one, a roundhouse to the face, and as he fell she caught his pipe to and used it against the two knife men. It was quick work.

Only one armed man left, but another stood in her way, so she dodged a few punches first. She ducked under his leg and forced his knee out from under him. She made sure he stayed down. She caught the lead pipe just in time, and flipped it around to use it against her would-be attacker.

Helena turned to face the two men left to find them already on the ground. She looked to her mother, the only other person in the alley.

Selina scoffed at her daughter's surprise, "Don't give me that look. I may be old, but I can still kick some no-name punks' asses."

Helena smiled, "I didn't doubt you could." She felt her hair, not a strand out of place. Which wouldn't do with the police lights flashing at the entrance of the alley. She messed it up and fudged some of her perfect make-up, before turning to her mother. "How do I look?"

Her mother nodded in approval. "Appropriately frazzled."

"Perfect," she said with too much emphasis on the purr. Helena prepared her sob story for the police before she felt something, a feeling of being watched coming from just over her shoulder. She looked up to the rooftops and for moment saw Batman.

Her heart skipped a beat and then he was gone again. She smiled at the empty space.

But Selina frowned. "Don't."

"Why? Because the last one broke your heart?"

Selina said nothing before the police arrived to see if they'd been hurt. Helena told them the story of Batman saving them from the gang, playing her part of the slightly hysterical but relieved and even a little thrilled damsel better than any Hollywood actress.

Selina kept quiet, watching the play act out without comment or additions.

 

* * *

 

 

"She lied."

Bruce looked to Terry, or more appropriately considering what he was wearing, the new Batman, waiting for further explanation. "Helena Kyle took out a gang of Jokerz almost single-handedly and then lied to the cops about it. She told them Batman saved her. But she'd handled the situation before I could intervene."

Bruce turned back to the Batcomputer, which was currently searching for everything on Helena Kyle to be found. "It would've lead to more questions."

"It certainly does!" Terry paused. "Is she your daughter?"

Bruce wanted to say he planned on finding that out. He'd already tracked down where the pair was staying; one strand of hair would be enough. But for once, he put the detective aside. "Yes."

Terry nodded, accepting the fact that Bruce had had a child with a woman who was supposed to be one of the bad guys. He moved on, "I think she's still hiding something. I plan on tracking her down."

The kid was asking for permission. Bruce could hardly stand it, most fathers had young men asking permission to marry their daughters or even for a date. Could nothing ever be normal for him? "What are you thinking?"

"I don't trust her, Bruce. No one gets that good without some practice, and she's no superhero."

No, she wasn't because she'd been raised by her mother. Bruce's daughter, his only biological child, was mostly likely a criminal. "Go."

Terry hesitated. He knew Bruce probably needed some word of comfort, something to help him cope with a newfound child. But Terry had nothing to say. So he left without a word.

Bruce sat in silence for a moment. Then he rose to leave.

One Batman would follow the daughter; it seemed only logically the other should visit the mother.

 

* * *

 

 

When they got back to the hotel room, Helena insisted on examining her mother for her nightly check-up. Selina tried to beg off, but her daughter was as persistent as her father. So Selina let her check the progress of the disease that was killing her. When she'd finished, Helena said, "It's getting bad. We're going to need more money for the treatments."

Selina knew what that meant, and saw that Helena was already digging out her costume, "No. Helena, we'll find another way." She inhaled deeply, "Your father can help."

Helena's breath caught. It was the first time her mother had ever voluntarily brought up the subject. But she shut down her emotions quickly and ruthlessly, ironically so much like him, "We don't need him. Really, mom, I don't mind."

Selina saw her daughter's cheeky smile, a reflection of her own. She knew the thrill her daughter got from stealing; it had once been hers. Sometimes Selina wondered just how much Helena made from all of her legitimate discoveries and if the stealing was really necessary anymore. Selina certainly had kept going long after she was financially secure.

"It wouldn't be wise, not here." _His city_. "Not in Gotham."

Helena, half-dressed, asked, "You're not worried about Batman are you? I can handle him as well as you did."

"This isn't the same Batman that I faced."

Helena finished dressing. "Well that's a good thing. I'm pretty sure playful innuendo would freak him out more than distract him, being my father and all."

Selina's breath caught and Helena smiled, finished dressing, "I figured it out years ago, Mom. Your voice was always so wistful when you talked about Batman. Though it wasn't until tonight that I figured out that Batman was Bruce Wayne." She laughed lightly. "It's obvious really when you think about it. I mean the list of Gotham men with the means and looks of Batman is a pretty short one. Really, except for his reputation, he was the only real contender. It was a genius disguise to hide in plain sight." Helena's eyes shined in admiration of her father, and Selina's heart tugged though she wasn't sure if the emotion behind it was joy or fear.

Helena turned to her mother fully, and kissed her on the cheek. Then she stepped away putting on her mask and stepping out into the night with a Cheshire grin.

 

* * *

 

 

Bruce had considered knocking. But he didn't want to exchange pleasantries if he could avoid it, and he wanted to avoid rejection even more. So he picked the lock and slipped inside the Kyle hotel room without a sound. He looked around the beautiful and expensive penthouse, not surprised. It was only the best with Selina.

"Anyone else, I'd ask how you got in. But with you, that's a ridiculous question isn't it?"

Bruce turned to see the woman of his thoughts in a robe, holding a mug of something hot in her hands. Tea? Hot chocolate? Bruce struggled to remember what beverage she liked before bed.

"What are you doing here, Bruce? I would think you're too old for a late night booty call." She put down her mug and invaded his personal space in a way only she could manage, and all of the old feelings came rushing back. She played with his shirtfront the way she once played on the Bat symbol. "Though I suppose they make little pills for that now don't they?" She lowered her voice to a throaty purr, "Well, I'm game if you are."

He stiffened, "Stop it."

Selina laughed, "I find it amazing that someone who once wore his underwear outside of his pants can be such a prude."

Bruce refused to let her distract him. "I'm here about Helena."

Selina backed away, "Children really are the best birth control."

"And about us."

"Us? There's not much to say about us." She folded her arms. "We managed to pull off a love square between two people. That is an accomplishment."

True. Even Superman only managed a triangle. Bruce kept that thought to himself and asked, "Why are you really here, Selina? After all these years."

"I came to Gotham to die, Bruce. I couldn't stand the thought of my life ending anywhere but the city in which it began."

It was devastating news. So much that Bruce didn't even question it. He collapsed in the closest chair; Selina followed him, grabbing her mug again. She handed to him. "Here."

Earl Grey tea with a splash of honey, Bruce now remembered she used to sneak her packets from Alfred's stash. And Alfred would always get annoyed with her for it though Bruce had suspected it was an act. Alfred had adored Selina. Thinking of Alfred wasn't helping, even though it'd been years since the butler had died. Bruce felt Selina snuggle up to him. He wished he could go back in time, and for a moment he imagined the life he'd never lived. One where he married Selina and they'd raised Helena together. Alfred would spoil his daughter; Dick and Tim would've been her bad influences, and Barbara would act as a protective older sister. They would even give her a younger brother, and he and Selina grew old together watching their children grow.

His heart lurched, and Bruce's arm pulled Selina closer to him. And so they sat for a moment, Selina listened to Bruce's heartbeat as he stroked her hair.

Bruce studied the room and noticed an item in the room, one he knew was stolen, but not by Selina. He couldn't let the truth go and asked, "How long has she been a thief?"

Selina wanted to claw his eyes out. How dare he? He had no right to criticize her. No rights at all when it came to Helena; she'd seen to that. She ignored the guilt and pulled away, metaphorical claws extended, "I'm guessing that McGinnis kid is the new Batman, or do you really just like hanging out with young males, Bruce?"

Of all the people to question, "Really?"

It lightened her mood and Selina gave her signature mischievous smile, "If I thought there was any truth to that rumor, I wouldn't joke about it."

Bruce responded in his Batman grovel, "I don't like jokes."

Selina was a little thrown. She couldn't remember when she'd ever seen that voice come from the unmasked face.

Bruce continued, "Where is she, out battling my protégé? She really is your daughter, Selina."

"Our daughter, Bruce."

Bruce had so many questions, wanted so many answers, but he settled on the biggest one,

"Why?"

Selina couldn't face him, as she answered, "Batman cannot be a father, Bruce. You know that."

Bruce got up and made her face him, "Did it matter that much, to steal my child from me?"

"She was our child, and I had to protect her. The daughter of Catwoman would've been in enough trouble, but if it'd gotten out that she was Batman's child? Can you imagine what the Joker would've done?" Bruce knew – two of the three Robins had suffered at the madman's hands. Poor Jason and Tim. But Selina continued, "He would've ground her up into cat food or something. He tried to do it to me to get to you, can you imagine what he would've done to our child?"

Suddenly too exhausted to fight, Bruce let it go. He let everything go. They were both too old, there was too little time left, and what did it really matter anymore? He forgot all of his questions and held her face gently, sliding his fingers under her chin, and said, "I love you, Selina."

She smiled, the fight gone from her as well, "Took you long enough."

Their lips sealed their words, both rejoicing at the peace they'd finally found.

It had taken far too long to find.

 

* * *

 

 

Terry turned off the Batsuit's cloaking function to inspect the device. He recognized that this was what had allowed her to bypass the security grid. He calibrated his suit to give him the ability to deactivate it on command. Then he moved on, searching for his prey. His senses were on full alert as he crept through the darkness.

A shadow shifted and revealed a beautiful woman in a catsuit. She smiled at him, jewels in hand, "Meow."

Batman tried not to let the perfect body encased in leather distract him. He tried to ignore her suggestive smile and the way her hips moved when she walked. He didn't think it showed in any case. "Catwoman, I presume?"

She continued to walk around him. "Got it on the first guess." She smirked, "And here I thought you were supposed to be dumb. But then again, daddy left some pretty big shoes to fill."

She knew? Damn, there went one plan of attack. But then again, maybe she was just trying to throw him off. He wasn't sure. Batman scowled. "You're going to jail."

Catwoman didn't look worried. "And I'm guess you're going to be the one who puts me there?" She unzipped the top of her suit, teasing her opponent, and then shoved the jewels down between her breasts and zipped back up. "Forgive me if I'm not too worried."

Batman made his move, but she was ready for him. Their fight was quick and dirty. He grabbed both her wrists, but let one go to catch the leg aiming for his crouch. She extended her claws on her free hand and attacked his face. He dodged the swing and grabbed her wrist again, trying to force her to the wall to trap her legs. But she got one around him, and used his hold against him, throwing him against the wall.

To her surprise, he hung on to her wrists after the impact. So she rammed her shoulder into him. He used his grip to throw her over his leg, but she grabbed his wrists right back and threw him over her head. This time the impact did cause him to let go. She leapt up and began to run the way she came.

Batman used the boosters in his shoes to get up and chased her. When she got to where the grid was he activated it while she was in the middle of it.

Luckily for her, she'd been looking behind at that moment and noticed the movement. She managed to activate the correct lenses in her goggles before he'd pushed the button. She saw that she barely missed several lasers in her current position.

Batman smirked; glad he'd caught her. He was about to speak when he saw her move.

She twisted, turned, flipped, and slid her way carefully through the remainder laser grid. She had never needed to turn off the lasers. When she finished executing moves he could never have done, she looked back and smiled in a challenge. Batman felt his blood rush.

He charged the laser grid, not caring about the alarms and police being summoned.

He didn't anticipate the cage though, and bars closed in around him, much to Catwoman's amusement. She collected her equipment with ease and flung the pack over her shoulder, looking over at her caught prey, "Wow, first meeting and we've already established which one of us is better." She came closer, playing with the bars. "If you ask nicely, I might let you out."

He already had a plan of escape. "I'll manage."

She shrugged, "Suit yourself." And with a skip in her step, she left the same way she'd entered.

It took him less than a moment to escape, and with that the chase across rooftops was on.

So as it often does, history recycled itself with new players wearing the same masks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Even though I included reference here, I've always had a problem with the fact that they made Terry Bruce's kid. The conspiracy was too unbelievable and felt like such a cop out. That said, in my imagination, Terry isn't Bruce's biological kid.
> 
> And yes, I know that Helena goes on to be Huntress not Catwoman. If there were a sequel to this it would probably be about her transition from sort of villain to sort of hero. Also I didn't include Damian in this fic because it was written before he came back into prominence (plus he's not a favorite of mine).
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed what was originally supposed to be a one-shot and thank you all for your comments.


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